quá tam ba bận

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Vietnamese

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Etymology

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Literally, "over three times". The use of both Sino-Vietnamese tam () and native ba for "three" next to each other is probably a form of emphasis.

Compare similar expressions such as Chinese 事不過三事不过三 (sự bất quá tam) and English third time's a charm.

Pronunciation

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  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [kwaː˧˦ taːm˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓən˧˨ʔ]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [kwaː˨˩˦ taːm˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓəŋ˨˩ʔ]
  • (Saigon) IPA(key): [waː˦˥ taːm˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓəŋ˨˩˨]

Phrase

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quá tam ba bận

  1. (idiomatic) after three attempts, the chance of the success decreases greatly