gừng càng già càng cay
Vietnamese
Etymology
Calque of Chinese 薑還是老的辣/姜还是老的辣 (jiāng háishì lǎo de là)
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ɣɨŋ˨˩ kaːŋ˨˩ zaː˨˩ kaːŋ˨˩ kaj˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [ɣɨŋ˦˩ kaːŋ˦˩ jaː˦˩ kaːŋ˦˩ kaj˧˧]
- (Saigon) IPA(key): [ɣɨŋ˨˩ kaːŋ˨˩ jaː˨˩ kaːŋ˨˩ ka(ː)j˧˧]
Proverb
- (literally) the older the ginger, the hotter the spice
- (figurative) the older a person is, the wiser they are; a person is more and more experienced as they age