A study on english idioms and proverbs concerning face with reference to the vietnamese equivalents

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS A STUDY ON ENGLISH IDIOMS AND PROVERBS CONCERNING FACE WITH REFERENCE TO THE VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ THÀNH NGỮ VÀ TỤC NGỮ TIẾNG ANH LIÊN QUAN ĐẾN KHN MẶT CĨ THAM CHIẾU ĐẾN CÁC TỪ TƢƠNG ĐƢƠNG TRONG TIẾNG VIỆT) Student: VI THỊ DUNG Student code: 621219 Major: ENGLISH Supervisor: NGUYEN THI THU THUY, Ph.D Hanoi – 2021 FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS A STUDY ON ENGLISH IDIOMS AND PROVERBS CONCERNING FACE WITH REFERENCE TO THE VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ THÀNH NGỮ VÀ TỤC NGỮ TIẾNG ANH LIÊN QUAN ĐẾN KHUÔN MẶT CÓ THAM CHIẾU ĐẾN NGHĨA TƢƠNG ĐƢƠNG TRONG TIẾNG VIỆT) Student: VI THỊ DUNG Student code: 621219 Major: ENGLISH Supervisor: NGUYEN THI THU THUY, Ph.D Hanoi – 2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT During the period of this graduation thesis, I received a plenty of enthusiastic help and support that guide and encourage me to overcome all difficulties and finish this hard but meaningful time Firstly, I would like to express thanks to the School Board of the Vietnam National University of Agriculture and all the teachers of the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages creating favourable conditions for me to take my graduation thesis Secondly, I sincerely thank to NGUYEN THI THU THUY, PhD, my supervisor, in every step throughout the process Without her invaluable suggestions and advice, this paper would have never been accomplished Most importantly, none of this could have happened without my family and my friends who fully supported me while I was doing this graduation paper Every time I was ready to quit, they were always beside me and encouraged me and I am forever grateful This graduation paper stands as a statement to their unconditional love and encouragement i CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled ―A STUDY ON ENGLISH IDIOMS AND PROVERBS CONCERNING FACE WITH REFERENCE TO THE VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS‖ submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor in English Language Except where the reference is indicated, no other person‘s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis Hanoi, 2021 Vi Thị Dung Approved by SUPERVISOR NGUYEN THI THU THUY, PhD Date:…………………… ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES ix ABSTRACT vi PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY 1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 1.2.1 Aims of the study 1.2.2 Objectives of the study 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 1.6 DESIGN OF THE STUDY PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS STUDIES 1.2 REVIEW OF THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.2.1 Definition of idioms 1.2.2 Definition of proverbs 1.2.3 Overview of structures of idioms and proverbs in English and Vietnamese 1.2.3.1 Phrases 1.2.3.2 Sentences 1.2.4 Idioms and Proverbs concerning face 17 1.2.4.2 Idioms and proverbs concerning face 18 iii 1.3 SUMMARY 18 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 16 2.1 RESEARCH METHODS 19 2.2 DATA COLLECTION 19 2.3 RESEARCH PROCEDURES 20 2.4 ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK 20 2.5 SUMMARY 23 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 24 3.1 SYNTACTIC FEATURES 24 3.1.1 English and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs concerning face with phrase structures 24 3.1.2 English and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs concerning face with sentence structures 38 3.2 SEMANTIC FEATURES 47 3.2.1 Figures of speech of idioms and proverbs concerning face 47 3.2.2 Semantic Fields of English and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs concerning face 48 3.3 SIMILARITIES 49 3.3.1 Syntactic features 49 3.3.2 Semantic features 50 3.4 DIFFERENCES 50 3.4.1 Syntactic features 50 3.4.2 Semantic features 51 3.5 SUMMARY 51 PART 3: CONCLUSION 53 RECAPITULATION 53 CONCLUDING REMARKS 54 IMPLICATIONS 55 LIMITATIONS 56 iv SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 56 REFERENCES 57 APPENDIX 60 APPENDIX 63 APPENDIX 73 v ABSTRACT This study focuses on studying the syntactic and semantic features of English and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs concerning face (IPCF) in some dictionaries The study uses comparative and contrasting methods to analyse the syntactic and semantic features of English and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs related to the faces found in the above dictionaries The analysis results show similarities and differences in syntactic and semantic features of English and Vietnamese idioms and proverbs concerning face Besides these similarities, there are also some differences between English and Vietnamese IPCF in terms of the syntactic and semantic features About syntactic features, firstly, not all syntactic structures appear in both English and Vietnamese IPCF; secondly, there are no Vietnamese IPCF that have the structure of adverb phrases, prepositional phrases; next, in English, IPCF with verb phrase structure account for the highest percentage while in Vietnamese, the most common percent are noun phrases; and finally, in English, simple sentence structures are used the most commonly, while simple and comparative sentence structures dominate in Vietnamese ones About semantic features, firstly, in English, there are some IPCF that have more than one meaning; secondly, in English, there are no IPCF belonging to the field of equality and work, while in Vietnamese, there are no IPCF belonging to the field of place, desire, and ability; and finally, in English, IPCF belong to the action field with the largest proportion, while in Vietnamese, it is the personality field Besides these similarities, there are also some differences between English and Vietnamese IPCF in terms of the syntactic and semantic features About syntactic features, firstly, not all syntactic structures appear in both English and Vietnamese IPCF; secondly, there are no Vietnamese IPCF that have the structure of adverb phrases, prepositional phrases; next, in English, IPCF with verb phrase structure account for the highest percentage while in Vietnamese, the most common percent are noun phrases; and finally, in English, simple sentence structures are used the most commonly, while simple vi and comparative sentence structures dominate in Vietnamese ones About semantic features, firstly, in English, there are some IPCF that have more than one meaning; secondly, in English, there are no IPCF belonging to the field of equality and work, while in Vietnamese, there are no IPCF belonging to the field of place, desire, and ability; and finally, in English, IPCF belong to the action field with the largest proportion, while in Vietnamese, it is the personality field Hopefully, these results will be very useful for improving the teaching and learning of English, especially English idioms and proverbs vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS A : Adjective Adv : Adverb AdvP : Adverb Phrase AP : Adjective Phrase Art : Article C : Complement N : Noun NP : Noun Phrase Num : Number O : Object Prep : Preposition S : Subject Sb : somebody Sth : something V : Verb viii ears you can‘t make a silk purse out of a sow‘s ear walls have ears the apple of your eye keep our eye on the ball take your eye off the ball not bat an eye a beam in your eye eye a bird‘s eye view turn a blind eye to sth in the blink of an eye there wasn‘t a dry eye in the house an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth the eye of a needle all eyes get (or keep) your eye in close (or shut) your eyes to sth open your eyes to sth a person in the eye give someone the eye go eyes out half an eye have an eye for sth have an eye for (or on or to) the main chance have eyes in the back of your head hit someone in the eye (or between the eyes) keep your eyes open (or peeled or skinned) make eyes at someone see eye to eye with one eye on sth/sb can understand a lot of what they hear you cannot make something good out of something that is naturally bad to be careful what you say as people may be eavesdropping the person who someone loves most and is very proud of to keep your attention focused on the matter in hand fail to keep your attention focused on the matter in hand to show no emotional or other reaction a fault that is greater in oneself than in the person one is finding fault with a general view from above to pretend not to notice very quickly (with reference to a play, film, or similar event) everyone in the audience was moved to tears the belief that retaliation in kind is the appropriate way to deal with an offence or crime a very small opening or space (used to emphasize the impossibility of a projected endeavor) to be watching eagerly and attentively to become {or remain) able to make good judgements about a task or occupation in which you are engaged to refuse to notice or acknowledge something unwelcome or unpleasant to allow yourself to accept or consider something to defraud, thwart, or humiliate a person to look at someone in a way that clearly indicates your sexual interest in them to make every effort a slight degree of perception or attention to be able to recognize, appreciate, and make good judgements about a particular thing to look or be looking for an opportunity to take advantage of a situation for personal gain, especially when this is financial to observe everything that is happening even when this is apparently impossible to be very obvious or impressive to be on the alert; watch carefully or vigilantly for something to look at someone in a way that makes it clear you find them sexually attractive to have similar views or attitudes to something; be in full agreement giving some but not all your attention to 65 with your eyes shut (or closed) give your eye teeth for sth give your eye teeth to sth a gleam (or twinkle) in someone‘s eye leap to the eye in your mind‘s eye a mote in someone‘s eye in the public eye eye have eyes like saucers the scales fall from someone‘s eyes make sheep‘s eyes at someone a sight for sore eyes a slap in the eye sleep with one eye open a smack in the eye spit in the eye of have square eyes throw dust in someone‘s eyes in the wink of an eye wipe someone‘s eye a worm‘s -eye view catch sb‘s eye have your beady eye on sb/sth bedroom eyes a blue-eyed boy be bright-eyed and bushytailed eye candy dollar signs in sb‘s eye watch sb/sth with an eagle eye easy on the eye give sb the evil eye be in the eye of the storm cast/run your/an eye over sth keep an eye out (open) for without having to make much effort to go to any lengths in order to obtain sth to go to any lengths in order to obtain sth if a plan or project is only a twinkle in or a gleam in someone's eye, it is only at the stage of being considered as a possibility to be immediately apparent in your imagination or mental view a minor flaw or indiscretion the state of being known or of interest to people in general, especially through the media to have your eyes opened wide in amazement someone is no longer deceived to look at someone in a foolishly amorous way person or thing that is very attractive an unexpected rejection or affront to sleep very slightly a strong rebuff to show contempt or scorn for to habitually watch television to excess to mislead someone by misrepresentation or diverting attention from a point very quickly to get the better of a person a view as seen from below or from a humble position to get someone's attention to watch someone or sth carefully a look in your eyes that shows that you are sexually attracted to someone a person highly regarded by someone and treated with special favor to be full of energy and eager to things visual images that are superficially attractive and entertaining but intellectually undemanding a humorous phrase used when one is visibly eager to make money to watch someone or sth closely and carefully to have an attractive appearance to look at someone in an angry or unpleasant way to be very much involved in an argument or problem that affects a lot of people to look at sth quickly without looking at the details to watch carefully for sth/someone to appear 66 sb/sth look sb in the eye/eyes with an eye to sth sb‘s eyes are out on stalks sb‘s eyes are popping out of their head all eyes are on sth/sb sb could sth with their eyes close/shut can‘t take/keep your eyes off sth/sb couldn‘t believe your eyes feast your eyes on sth have eyes like a hawk clap/lay/set eyes on sb/sth open sb‘s eyes to sth with your eyes open give sb the glad eye the green-eyed monster: the feeling of being jealous have/keep half an eye on sth/sb with half an eye on sth/sb to look directly at someone without fear or shame with something as an aim full of eager curiosity or amazement a way of describing the way you look when you are extremely surprised to see something or someone if all eyes are on someone or something, everyone is watching that person or thing and waiting to see what will happen if you say someone could something with their eyes closed or with their eyes shut, you mean they can it very easily to not stop looking at someone or something to be so surprised by what you see or hear that you think you are imagining it to look at sth with a lot of pleasure to be very observant to see someone or sth for the first time to make someone understand sth for the first time and know how difficult or unpleasant it is knowing about all the problems there could be with sth that you want to to look at someone in a way that makes it obvious that you are sexually attracted to them the feeling of being jealous to watch someone or something intermittently or half-heartedly while something else is happening to be able to see, notice, or understand something as being plainly obvious or true here‘s mud in your eye cheers; bottoms up! be one in the eye for sb a disappointment or setback for someone or something, especially one that is perceived as being well deserved be pie-eyed to be drunk have/keep one eye on sth/sb to watch someone or something or stay informed about the person‘s behavior in a pig‘s eye expressing scornful disbelief at a statement a roving eye a tendency to flirt or be constantly looking to start a new sexual relationship have stars in your eyes to be happy and excited about future because you believe that you will be successful and famous cut your eye teeth to get your first experience of a particular type of work and learn the basic skills in the twinkling of an eye very quickly be up to your eyes in sth to be very busy doing something keep a weather eye on sth/sb to watch sth or someone carefully because they may need help pull the wool over sb‘s eyes to deceive someone in order to prevent them from 67 beauty is in the eye of the beholder the buyer has need of a hundred eyes, the seller of but one in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king lip knowing what you are really doing beauty cannot be judged objectively, for what one person finds beautiful or admirable may not appeal to another to warn to a purchaser that it is their responsibility to examine goods on offer said about a difficult situation in which someone with only a few skills is in a better position and more successful than those people who have none hawks will not pick out people who belong to the same group will not—or hawks‘ eyes should not—harm one another what the eye doesn‘t see, the if you're unaware of an unpleasant fact or situation heart doesn‘t grieve over you can't be troubled by it the eye of a master does more work than both his hands four eyes see more than two two people keeping watch, supervising, or searching have a better chance of noticing or finding something please your eye and plague those who choose their husbands, wives, or lovers your heart on the basis of good looks alone may suffer for their choice the eyes are the window of looking into a person‘s eyes can tell you what the the soul person thinks and feels button your lip to remain silent bite your lip to repress an emotion; stifle laughter or a retort hang on someone's lips to listen attentively to someone lick (or smack) your lips to look forward to something with relish; show your satisfaction pass someone's lips to be eaten, drunk, or spoken by someone someone's lips are sealed a person is obliged to keep a secret read my lips to listen carefully give/pay lip service to sth if you pay lip service to an idea or cause, you give verbal support or approval, but fail to actually anything a stiff upper lip if a person keeps a stiff upper lip, they contain their emotion and not let other people see their feelings be on everyone‘s lips being talked about by a lot of people curl your lip to lift one side of your mouth in an expression which shows that you not like or respect sth or someone be tight-lipped to have one's lips pressed together, as in anger there‘s many a slip between said to emphasize that many bad things might cup and lip happen before something is finished turn to ashes in your mouth to become bitterly disappointing or worthless take the bread out of to deprive people of their livings people‘s mouths look as if butter wouldn‘t to appear deceptively gentle or innocent melt in your mouth 68 foaming/froth at the mouth put your foot in your mouth look a gift horse in the mouth from the horse mouth the lion‘s mouth melt in the mouth a nasty/bad taste in the mouth have a plum in your mouth stop someone‘s mouth bad-mouth sb/sth a big mouth be born with a silver spoon in your mouth live from hand to mouth mouth to be very angry to say or sth tactless or embarrassing, commit a blunder or indiscretion to find fault with what has been given or be ungrateful for an opportunity from the person directly concerned or another authoritative source a place of great peril to be deliciously light or tender and need little or no chewing a strong feeling of distress to have a rich-sounding voice or affected accent to bribe or otherwise induce a person to keep silent about sth to say unpleasant things about someone or sth you talk too much, especially secret to be the son or daughter of a very rich family to have just enough money to live on and nothing extra sb‘s heart is in their mouth they feel extremely nervous a sow may whistle, though it to indicates that someone is struggling to has an ill mouth for it something for which he is not suitable be laughing out of the other to tell someone that, despite being pleased now, side of your mouth they will not be pleased later when things not happen as expected or planned put your money where your to support sth that you believe in, especially be mouth is giving money a mouth to feed someone, especially a new-born baby for whom you must provide food be all mouth and (no) they talk a lot about doing sth but they never it trouser be down in your mouth to be sad keep your mouth shut to keep sth secret make sb‘s mouth water if the smell or the sight of the food make your mouth water, it makes you want to eat it run off at the mouth to talk a lot without saying anything important shoot your mouth off to talk too much, especially about sth you should not talk about wash your mouth out sth that you say to someone who is younger than you when you are angry with them for swearing out of the mouths of babes said when a child says something that surprises you because it seems very wise speak with a plum in your they speak in the way that shows they are from a mouth very high social group shut your mouth an impolite way to tell someone to stop talking be speaking/talking out of to say different things about the same subject both sides of your mouth when you are with different people in order to always please people you are with a/your smart mouth they speak in a way that is too clever and does not 69 show enough respect for other people in speech but not in writing to tell someone what you think they mean or want to say to say exactly what someone else was going to say or what they were thinking a person who does evil bears evil fruits and a person who does good bears good fruit in the words, deeds, and behaviour out of the mouths of babes said when a child says something that surprises you because it seems very wise a shut mouth catches no we should all be alert to grab the opportunities in flies our life never look a gift horse in the said to advise someone not to refuse something mouth good that is being offered god never sends mouths but god can be relied upon to provide for everybody he sends meat follow your nose to go straight ahead by a nose by a very narrow margin count noses to count people, typically in order to determine the numbers in a vote put someone's nose out of to upset or annoy someone joint turn up your nose at to show distaste or contempt for something under someone's nose (of an action) committed openly and boldly, but without someone noticing or noticing in time to prevent it have your nose in the air haughtily with your nose in the air haughtily powder your nose to go to the lavatory it‘s no skin off someone's to use this expression means that you don't care if nose something happens turn up one's nose if you turn up your nose at something, you reject it because you think it is not good enough for you give sb a bloody nose to defeat or damage someone, but not permanently or seriously get a bloody nose to receive an injury to one's emotions or pride can‘t see beyond/past the you think so much about yourself and what affects end of your nose you that you not see what is really important nose to tail (of vehicles) moving or standing close behind one another, especially in heavy traffic get up sb‘s nose to annoy someone have your nose in a book to be reading have a nose (round) to look around a place have a nose for sth to be good at finding a particular kind of thing keep your nose clean to avoid getting into trouble or doing anything illegal keep your nose out of sth to not become involved in other people‘s activities or relationships keep your nose to the to continue to work very hard without stopping grindstone 70 by word of mouth put words in/into sb‘s mouth take the words out of sb‘s mouth out of the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks nose lead sb by the nose nose face to control someone and make them exactly what you want them to look down your nose at sth to think that someone is less important than you or that sth is not good enough for you on the nose exactly right, often an exact amount of money or time pay through the nose to pay too much for sth poke/stick your nose into sth to show too much interest in a situation that not involve you rub sb‘s nose in the dirt to say or sth which makes someone remember that they have failed thumb your nose at sth/sb to show that you not respect rules, laws or powerful people or organizations cut off your nose to spite to something because you are angry, even if it your face will cause trouble for you blue in the face if you say sth until you are blue in the face, you keep saying the same thing again and again, but no one listens to you put a brave face on sth to behave in a way that make people think you are happy when you are not have egg on your face to seem stupid because of sth you have done sb‘s face doesn‘t fit if someone‘s face doesn‘t fit, their appearance or personality are not suitable for particular job or activity sb‘s face is a picture if someone‘s face is a picture, their face shows that they are very surprised or angry face to face if two people meet or talk face to face, they meet or talk when they are both together in the same place a face as long as a wet week a very sad expression be in your face if someone is in your face, they criticize all the time blow up/explode in sb‘s face if a plan or situation blows up in your face, it has a bad effect on you instead of the result you expected come face to face with sb to suddenly meet someone by chance come face to face with sth to see or experience a problem for the first time disappear off the face of the to disappear completely earth fly in the face of sth to be the opposite of what is usual or accepted get out of my face! sth that you say in order to tell someone to stop annoying you laugh in sb‘s face to show someone that you not respect them and not think their ideas are important look sb in the face to look directly at someone without fear or shame make/pull a face to show that you not like sth or someone by making unpleasant impression set your face against sth to be determined not to sth show your face if you show your face in a place, you go there, even when you feel embarrassed about sth that you have done 71 stuff your face take sth at face value throw sth back in sb‘s face lose face save face make faces fall flat on your/its face not be just a pretty face a long face face the music shut your face/mouth a slap in the face wipe the smile off sb‘s face face be staring sb in the face keep a straight face have a face like thunder with a face like thunder the acceptable face of with egg on your face have the face to in your face off your face laugh on the other side of your face a smack in the face (eye) spit in the (eye) face of to eat a lot of food to accept sth because of the way it first looks or seems, without thinking about what else it could mean to refuse to accept someone‘s advice or help in an angry or unpleasant way to sth which makes other people stop respecting you to sth so that people will continue to respect you to make silly expressions with your face in order to make people laugh to fail or make a mistake in an embarrassing way if someone is not just a pretty face, they are not only attractive but also intelligent if you have a long face, you look sad to accept criticism or punishment for sth that you have done an impolite to telling someone to stop talking an action that insults or upsets someone to make someone feel less happy or confident, especially someone who is annoying you because they think they are very clever if a solution to a problem is staring you in the face, it is very obvious if an unpleasant experience is staring you in the face, it is very likely to happen to you to look serious and not laugh, although you are in the funny situation or are saying sth funny or stupid to have a very angry expression to have a very angry expression the tolerable or attractive manifestation or aspect of appearing foolish or ridiculous to have the effrontery to sth obvious, assertive very drunk or under the influence of illegal drugs to be discomfited after feeling satisfaction or confidence about sth a strong rebuff to show contempt or scorn for (Sources: Oxford Dictionary of Idioms, Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms, Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs and Từ điển thành ngữ tục ngữ Việt Nam) 72 APPENDIX LIST OF VIETNAMESE IDIOMS AND PROVERBS CONCERNING FACE Table 3: Vietnamese idioms and proverbs concerning face má cằm Vietnamese IPCF chờ đƣợc vạ, má sƣng má bánh đúc, đƣờng phèn râu ông cắm cằm bà bỏ tai bƣng tai bịt mắt đầu lại phải tai đàn gẩy tai trâu tai đầu cua tai ếch điếc tai cày, sáng tai họ đỏ mặt, tía tai gãi đầu gãi tai inh tai nhức óc mang tai mang tiếng mắt thứ hai, tai thứ bảy mũ ni che tai nhƣ rót vào tai nhƣ sét đánh bên tai nói nhƣ đấm vào tai phải bỏng mó đến tai tai to mặt lớn tai vách mạch rừng tránh đầu phải tai lời thật trái tai mèo lành nỡ cắt tai nhà có ngạch, vách có tai ngƣời cƣa sừng xẻ tai, chẳng long tai gãy cuống tiu nghỉu nhƣ mèo tai xa chùa vắng tiếng, gần Meaning an incident, until it is clarified, has also suffered losses and losses people who are less intelligent, not think deeply people who work in a messy way people who not listen, not pay attention to public opinion or the advice of others people who live isolated, indifferent to the world around them the insiders are not affected, but the outsiders suffer the waste of effort, giving the good or the good to the ignorant to indicate inconsistency people who are lazy to work, just want to rest face was red from embarrassment or anger to shy gesture, ashamed to beg someone loud, sharp sounds and noises cause discomfort people who have a bad reputation people who are lazy to work, just want to rest people who pretend not to hear, not know, ignore all things in life and have a negative attitude, avoiding struggles sweet talk to entice and seduce others to indicate the state of a person who is very shocked speaking in a gruff, rude way makes it difficult for the listener to accept people who only know how to ask for help from others when they are in trouble, but normally not care about others people with power and great positions in society walls have ears people who try to escape but cannot escape from calamity and involvement no one wants to treat good people badly no one wants to treat good people badly fields have eyes, and woods have ears if the form is not good then surely the inside is not good either state of sadness and disappointment when we're apart, we feel nostalgic and empty; 73 chùa inh tai che mắt gian trông mắt, bắt tay coi ngƣời nửa mắt đầu mày cuối mắt đổ mồ hôi, sôi nƣớc mắt khuất mắt khôn coi mắt cú da lƣơn mắt dơi mày chuột mắt la mày lét mắt loà chân chậm mắt nhắm mắt mở mắt nhƣ mắt lợn luộc mắt phƣợng mày ngài mắt sắc nhƣ dao mắt trắng dã, mơi thâm múa rìu qua mắt thợ mắt nảy đom đóm mắt ngang tai, trái mắt ngƣời trần mắt thịt nhắm mắt bƣớc qua nhắm mắt đƣa chân nhắm mắt nói liều nhắm mắt xi tay no bụng, đói mắt nứt mắt hƣ báo trƣớc mắt sáng mắt, chặt đầu gối sáng mắt tai nghe không mắt thấy tai nghe mắt thấy trắng mắt trơ mắt ếch when they are close to each other, we feel uncomfortable and troublesome those who hide the truth to avoid ridicule of the public you must see with your own eyes, should not guess conceited, arrogant and contemptuous of others the act of looking at each other affectionately, implicitly expressing affection for each other people who work hard and toil with their own strength not to believe because you haven't seen it with your own eyes people who are deceitful, or peeping, prying into other people's affairs people whose appearance shows an evil and deceitful mind sneaky, indecent gestures people who are old and weak, no longer agile hasty actions after just waking up to describe a person's appearance beautiful women a person with sharp, sharp eyes a person with a cruel, inhuman appearance the act of bragging, competing with someone who is talented, knowledgeable in that field many times more than himself to be very angry words and deeds that are perverse, contrary to common sense that no one can accept real people living in real life to indicate the action of ignoring what you are not satisfied with the act of recklessly entrusting one's life to fate people who not see, not know the facts, but speak loosely, without any basis people who have died people who are full and can no longer eat but still show cravings people who are spoiled since childhood those who evil and must receive the consequences to refer to the elderly who are still healthy and lucid to indicate the act of understanding and seeing things clearly hearing rumors or listening to people speak is not as trustworthy as you see it with your own eyes directly see and hear someone who clearly sees but has to give up to indicate the act of indifference, not caring at all; 74 trời cao có mắt vừa mắt ta, mắt ngƣời vụng tay, hay mắt ăn cắp quen tay, ngủ ngày quen mắt bụt toà, gà mổ mắt chƣớng tai gai mắt đánh bạc quen tay, ngủ ngày quen mắt, ăn vặt quen mồm gái trơng mịn mắt làm thân lƣơn chẳng nề lấm mắt lấy vải thƣa che mắt thánh lựa đƣợc dâu, sâu mắt mắt thấy tai nghe mắt trƣớc mắt sau đồng kiếm nát đồng cỏ, hai đồng kiếm đỏ mắt ngƣời khơn mắt đen sì, ngƣời dại mắt nửa chì nửa thau quạ khơng mổ mắt quạ rạ đồng chiêm, có liềm cắt; rạ đồng mùa có mắt trơng rậm râu sâu mắt, đắt tiền mua thứ đau mắt, thứ nhì nhức khua mơi múa mép môi hở lạnh môi nhƣ môi với trả mơi trả miếng ăn trầu đỏ mơi máy mắt ăn xôi, máy môi ăn thịt mỏng môi hay hớt thƣa nói hớt, trớt mơi nói thừa seeing the damage but helpless, not know what to to salvage heaven above understands all the good and evil deeds of people so that sooner or later, they will reward and punish you have to behave properly, if you feel satisfied yourself, then others will be satisfied people who are clumsy, have no talent but often judge and criticize others bad actions or habits if you don't anything wrong, no one dares to harass, oppose, or harm you the damage of bad habits women who give birth once are beautiful and good-looking in a lowly position, he has to be patient and willing to vile things to deceive the above, but get exposed finding the right daughter-in-law is extremely difficult directly see and hear an act of indecent hard and difficult work how to judge people through their eyes people who belong to the same group will not—or should not—harm one another during the time of drying the straw in the field, the owner of the field must always take care of it so that it is not stolen the general is fierce, strong, defiant, can heavy and great work eye pain and toothache cause the most discomfort people who speak incorrectly family members who should protect and sacrifice for each other close relationships between people not to be jealous or envious of others because they are better than you people who are superstitious people who lie people with wide teeth who are curious, like to interfere in other people's affairs 75 bán trôn nuôi miệng bóp mồm bóp miệng vú lấp miệng em miệng/ mồm a prostitute an excessively stingy lifestyle people who use their strengths and wealth to suppress and overwhelm the weaker câm miệng hến silently, without saying a word cóc mở miệng people who are quiet, never have an opinion to participate in anything that suddenly spoke up dại mồm dại miệng people who speak foolishly, clumsy, thoughtless giữ mồm giữ miệng to be discreet and cautious in speaking to avoid bad things gƣơm hai lƣỡi, miệng trăm used to refer to a person who is sinister, hình treacherous há miệng chờ sung a lazy attitude, not willing to work, just ready to eat by praying for luck há miệng mắc quai people who bad things, often turn a blind eye to similar actions of others kiến bò miệng chén to indicate the state of stalemate, on the same road miệng tai people who only know themselves, not listen, care about others miệng ăn núi lở to describe a person who only eats but does not work miệng sữa people who are immature and foolish miệng cọp gan thỏ people who speak aggressive and bold but are actually afraid and timid miệng hùm nọc rắn dangerous places miệng mật lòng dao people who speak sweetly on the outside but are cruel and sinister inside miệng nam mô, bụng bồ dao people who are gentle on the outside but are cruel găm and sinister on the inside miệng nói, tay làm you should be independent, self-supporting, not rely on anyone miệng thơn thớt, ớt ngâm velvet paws hide sharp claws mỡ để miệng mèo the act of putting in front of someone what one is craving mồm loa miệng chảo, mách to description a person who talks loudly, a lot, one lẻo đôi co person's private talk to others leads to quarrels mồm miệng đỡ chân tay people who are lazy but clever, use clever speech to avoid work ngứa mồm ngứa miệng the speaker who is not careful thơm tay, may miệng business and trade luck, prosperity vạ mồm vạ miệng someone who speaks recklessly, leading to disaster for himself vắt mũi không đủ đút miệng people who are poor have to find ways to live through the day but still not have enough to eat biết uốn câu cho vừa it is not possible to please everyone and miệng cá everything cannot be foreseen bệnh từ miệng vào, hoạ từ to be careful while eating and speaking miệng miệng hại thân someone who speaks recklessly, leading to disaster for himself tƣởng chị ngã em nƣng, family members not know how to help each 76 ngờ chị ngã em bƣng miệng cƣời đƣờng miệng há miệng chờ ho khôn miệng, dại tay khơn ngậm miệng, khoẻ cắp tay làm biếng lấy miệng mà đƣa làm thầy nuôi vợ, làm thợ nuôi miệng lấp sông lấp giếng, lấp đƣợc miệng thiên hạ mau mồm mau miệng méo miệng đòi ăn xơi vị miệng bà đồng nhƣ lồng chim khƣớu miệng chào rơi, bụng khấn trời đừng ăn miệng hoả lị ăn hết nghiệp miệng kẻ sang có gang có thép miệng ơng cai, vai đầy tớ miệng gian chẳng nhiều miệng/ mồm miệng tồ lơ làm khổ chân tay ngắn cổ bé miệng, kêu không thấu trời sẩy chân sẩy miệng tay làm hàm nhai, tay quai miệng trễ vạ miệng ra, bệnh qua miệng vào xa mỏi chân, gần mỏi miệng kẻ cắp già mồm mồm loa mép giải nỏ ngõ lẫn mồm thờn bơn méo miệng chê chai lệch mồm other if you don't know the way, you should ask someone else to wait, long for a vain, illusory thing wise or foolish is something no one can hide not to oppose powerful people to avoid getting involved lazy people often brag and lie to encourage the spirit of learning, upholding the tradition of studiousness you can't stop people from talking bad about you to speak quickly and flexibly to demand, desire excessively can't believe superstitions fake attitude, not sincere intentionally disparaging people who eat vulgarly those who are rich and powerful are arrogant the person in power always curses loudly; the underdog always suffers it is often compared that the world's tongue is like a poisonous snake that just waits and spits out many malicious words that indirectly kill the life seeds of many people someone who speaks recklessly, leading to disaster for himself the fate of the poor was unjustly oppressed and could not be expressed to the above you should think before you speak if you don't want to cause consequences you should be independent, self-supporting, not rely on anyone to be careful when eating and speaking relatives are far away, each time they go to visit, it takes a lot of time and effort, but if they are close to each other, it is easy to create troublesome conflicts a person who does wrong, but refuses to admit his fault but also argues loudly to try to get it someone who speaks loudly, overwhelms others people with a sharp, sour personality, everyone hates, doesn't want to be close, chat, and have relationships people who not see their weaknesses but also criticize others 77 ăn ngập mặt ngập mũi chúi đầu chúi mũi đứng mũi chịu sào mũi hỉ mũi chƣa kì đà cản mũi mọc mũi, sủi tăm tối mắt tối mũi vuốt mặt không nể mũi xỏ chân lỗ mũi mũi dại, lái chịu đòn ba mặt lời bán mặt cho đất, bán lƣng cho trời ban ngày ban mặt bớt bát mát mặt cách mặt xa lòng cất mặt mở mày cháy nhà mặt chuột chọn mặt gửi vàng có máu mặt đầu tắt mặt tối đầu trâu mặt ngựa gần lửa rát mặt mặt khôn dồn mặt, què quặt chân tay mặt trái lại mặt ăn cƣới lì nhƣ tiền chì hai mặt ma bắt nạt tuỳ mặt mắng nhƣ tát nƣớc vào mặt mặt ngón tay chéo mặt bủng da chì mặt búng sữa mặt cắt khơng cịn hột máu mặt dạn mày dày mặt đỏ nhƣ gấc someone who is too greedy, plundering everything without thinking of anyone the hasty gait the person who plays an important role, responsible for all the immature, inexperienced the action of preventing others, intentionally or unintentionally a state of slow growth to indicate the state of being busy, having no free time to criticize or doing bad things to someone without respecting them taking advantage of emotions to make people follow their will the people below make mistakes, but the people above have to bear it it happened that many people have heard, seen, and cannot doubt or deny scenes of hard work and floods of farmers clear, not hidden to eat less and spend less, less worry and trouble out of sight, out of mind to be proud when the story broke, you saw the hypocrite to choose a trusted person to give the important, the precious to appear to have abundant money, or influence, compared to everyone around to indicate the state of being busy, having no free time evil thugs if you are close to the boss, you must always maintain discipline and politeness, not be free and comfortable facial expressions are good or bad who not keep their promises side work that costs more than the main job a person with a stubborn face, difficult to teach to avoid bullying powerful and talented people to scold furiously, fiercely, not letting people have time to explain a person who has a narrow, unhappy appearance the appearance of a drug addict or long-term sick the immature, inexperienced too scared shameless, fearless to be drunk 78 mặt đối mặt mặt hoa da phấn mặt khó đăm đăm mặt làm thinh, tình ƣng mát mày mát mặt mặt nạc đóm dày mặt nặng nhƣ đeo đá mặt ngây cán tàn mặt nhăn nhƣ bị mặt nhăn nhƣ cầu hàng thịt mặt nhƣ chàm đổ mặt nhƣ mặt thớt mặt rắn nhƣ sành mặt rỗ nhƣ tổ ong mặt sắt đen mặt sứa, gan lim mặt mặt sƣng mày sỉa mặt tái nhƣ gà cắt tiết mặt trơ trán bóng mặt ủ mày chau mặt vàng nhƣ nghệ mặt vuông chữ điền mặt xanh, nanh vàng mặt ngƣời mƣời mặt nói nhƣ đổ mẻ vào mặt nói nhƣ tát nƣớc vào mặt tay mặt, đặt tay trái rẻ tiền mặt, đắt tiền chịu sa mày nặng mặt sƣng mày sƣng mặt tay bắt mặt mừng tối mày tối mặt trở mặt nhƣ trở bàn tay trơ nhƣ mặt thớt trông mặt đặt tên vạch mặt tên vẽ mày vẽ mặt in front of each other in a hostile position beautiful woman a scowling, unfriendly face there was no expression on the outside, but the inside agreed to be proud stupid person state of anger but not speaking out stupid, dull face unsightly face unsightly face state of extreme panic stubborn face a person with a stubborn face, difficult to teach people with ugly faces, not pretty cold, fierce face people who appear to be soft and docile on the outside, are actually very stubborn and stubborn angry face state of extreme panic stubborn, shameless to be sad too scared benevolent person people are so sick that they are pale a person who values people more than money and material things to scold furiously, fiercely, not letting people have time to explain someone who speaks loudly, harshly, not allowing people to explain crafty, treacherous person experience in trading angry face angry face cheerful too busy, no free time a person who has the ability to change facial expression and attitude quickly and easily stubborn face to look at the outside and guess the inside to point out the guilty without fear to make up the appearance to be beautiful to deceive (Sources: Oxford Dictionary of Idioms, Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms, Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs and Từ điển thành ngữ tục ngữ Việt Nam) 79