gừng càng già càng cay

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Vietnamese

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Etymology

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Calque of Chinese 薑越老越辣姜越老越辣 (jiāngyuèlǎoyuèlà).

Pronunciation

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  • (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

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gừng càng già càng cay

  1. (literally) the older the ginger, the hotter the spice
  2. (figurative) the older a person is, the wiser they are; a person is more and more experienced as they age