ba chìm bảy nổi

Vietnamese

Alternative forms
  • bảy nổi ba chìm

Pronunciation
  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ t͡ɕim˨˩ ʔɓaj˧˩ noj˧˩]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ t͡ɕim˦˩ ʔɓaj˧˨ noj˧˨]
  • (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ cim˨˩ ʔɓa(ː)j˨˩˦ noj˨˩˦]

Adjective

ba chìm bảy nổi

  1. (literal) sunk down three times, floated up seven times
  2. (figurative, of people or their lives) adrift or unstable, full of struggling
    • 18th–19th century, Hồ Xuân Hương (胡春香), “Bánh trôi (餅㵢)”, in John Balaban, transl., Spring Essence: The Poetry of Hồ Xuân Hương, Copper Canyon Press (book), also hosted by Nôm Foundation (online), published 2000:
      身㛪辰𤽸分㛪𧷺
      𠤩浽𠀧沉買渃𡽫
      硍湼默油𢬣几揑
      𦓡㛪刎𡨹𬌓𢚸𣘈
      Thân em thì trắng, phận em tròn,
      Bảy nổi ba chìm mấy nước non.
      Rắn nát mặc dầu tay kẻ nặn,
      Mà em vẫn giữ tấm lòng son.
      I was born pure and beautiful,
      Yet my life's full of struggles.
      My fate is in entirely in the hands of the elites, the powerful,
      Yet I will never lose faith.
      (literally, "My body's pasty, my fate well-rounded,
      I've been adrift in all this water.
      Whether I remain solid or become mushy, it's up to my maker,
      Nevertheless, my heart will forever be blood-red.")

See also
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