vò đầu bứt tai

Vietnamese

Etymology

vò (“to crumple up”) +‎ đầu (“head”) +‎ bứt (“to pluck”) +‎ tai (“ear”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [vɔ˨˩ ʔɗəw˨˩ ʔɓɨt̚˧˦ taːj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [vɔ˦˩ ʔɗəw˦˩ ʔɓɨk̚˦˧˥ taːj˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [vɔ˨˩ ʔɗəw˨˩ ʔɓɨk̚˦˥ taːj˧˧] ~ [jɔ˨˩ ʔɗəw˨˩ ʔɓɨk̚˦˥ taːj˧˧]

Verb

vò đầu bứt tai

1. (idiomatic) to not know how to deal with a complicated problem or affair