ngựa quen đường cũ

Vietnamese

Etymology

Literally “the horse goes on its familiar path”. Calque of Chinese 老馬識途／老马识途 (lão mã thức đồ), but the semantics has changed.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ŋɨə˧˨ʔ kwɛn˧˧ ʔɗɨəŋ˨˩ ku˦ˀ˥]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ŋɨə˨˩ʔ kwɛŋ˧˧ ʔɗɨəŋ˦˩ kʊw˧˨]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ŋɨə˨˩˨ wɛŋ˧˧ ʔɗɨəŋ˨˩ kʊw˨˩˦]

Idiom

ngựa quen đường cũ

1. to lapse back into one's old ways; to relapse into vice