ba chìm bảy nổi

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• bảy nổi ba chìm

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ t͡ɕim˨˩ ʔɓaj˧˩ noj˧˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ t͡ɕim˦˩ ʔɓaj˧˨ noj˧˨]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ cim˨˩ ʔɓa(ː)j˨˩˦ noj˨˩˦]

Adjective

ba chìm bảy nổi

1. (literal) sunk down three times, floated up seven times
2. (figurative, of people or their lives) adrift or unstable, full of struggling
   • Hồ Xuân Hương, Bánh trôi nước [Floating Cake]

     Thân em thời trắng phận em tròn,
     Bảy nổi ba chìm mấy nước non.
     Rắn nát mặc dầu tay kẻ nặn,
     Nhưng em vẫn giữ tấm lòng son.

     I was born pure and beautiful,
     Yet my life's full of struggles.
     My fate is in entirely in the hands of the elites, the powerful,
     Yet I will never lose faith.

     (literally, “My body's pasty, my fate well-rounded,
     I've been adrift in all this water.
     Whether I remain solid or become mushy, it's up to my maker,
     Nevertheless, my heart will forever be blood-red.”)

See also

• lên voi xuống chó