lên voi xuống chó
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Vietnamese
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Literally “going up as high as sitting on an elephant’s back, going down as low as a dog";[1] perhaps alluding to the fact that ancient monarchs and commanders rode elephants while dogs were considered lowly animals used for guarding.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [len˧˧ vɔj˧˧ suəŋ˧˦ t͡ɕɔ˧˦]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [len˧˧ vɔj˧˧ suəŋ˦˧˥ t͡ɕɔ˨˩˦]
- (Saigon) IPA(key): [ləːn˧˧ vɔj˧˧ suəŋ˦˥ cɔ˦˥] ~ [ləːn˧˧ jɔj˧˧ suəŋ˦˥ cɔ˦˥]
Verb
[edit]- (idiomatic) to have ups and downs in one's life; to go from rags to riches and/or riches to rags; to move up and down the socioeconomic ladder
References
[edit]- ^ Vương Gia Thụy (2018). Learning to Live Through Vietnamese and American Proverbs: A Bilingual Vietnamese-English Edition