Đặc điểm cú pháp và ngữ nghĩa của thành ngữ có từ mèo trong tiếng anh và tiếng việt

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HA NOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A THESIS IDIOMS CONTAINING THE WORD “ CAT” IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE FROM THE SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC PERSPECTIVES (Đặc điểm cú pháp ngữ nghĩa thành ngữ có từ “mèo” Tiếng Anh Tiếng Việt) CAO THI THUY Field: English Linguistics Code: 8.22.02.01 Supervisor : Dr Le Thi Minh Thao Ha Noi, 12/2020 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled IDIOMS CONTAINING THE WORD “ CAT” IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE FROM THE SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC PERSPECTIVES submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master 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, 2020 Cao Thi Thuy Approved by SUPERVISOR Le Thi Minh Thao Date :…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My study has been only completed successfully with the assistance and guidance supports and assistance from a variety of people Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Le Thi Minh Thao for her valuable suggestions, academic guidance on my study She has spent his valuable time on the correction of my paper Under her guidance, I have made much progress, and this composition is mainly the result of her useful advice and help Next, I am also grateful to all my teachers at the English Faculty, Hanoi Open University for their vast amount of guidance, encouragement and patience with my thesis Furthermore, my thanks also go to all my friends for their encouragement and precious assistance throughout the process of writing the thesis Their material and spiritual support is a great driving-force for me Last but not least, I wish to acknowledge the support and invaluable help of my family while the work was in progress Definitely, I will not able to anything without their help Hanoi, December 2020 Cao Thi Thuy ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of originality……………………………………………… ………… ……i Acknowledgements …………………………………….…………………… ….ii Table of contents …………………………………………………………… … iii Abstract ………… ……………………… ……………………………………… …v List of abbreviations ……………………………………………………………………vi List of tables and figures………………………………….……………………… ….vii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION………………………………….……………… ….1 1.1 Rationale…………………………………………………………………… …….1 1.2 Aims and objectives of the study …………………………………………….…….2 1.3 Research questions………………………………………………………….….… 1.4 Methods of the study……………………………………………………………….2 1.5 Scope of the study …………………………………………………………………3 1.6 Significance of the study ……………………………………….………………….4 1.7 Structure of the study …………………………………………….…………….….4 Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW …………………………………….…………6 2.1 Previous studies…………………………………………………… ….…………6 2.2 Theory of syntax and semantics………………………………………….………7 2.2.1 Theory of syntax …………………………………………………….… ……7 2.2.1.1 Definitions…………………………………………………………….……7 2.2.1.2 Types of Sentence Structures…………………………………………;;.….9 2.2.1.3 Types of phrases………………………………………………… ….….10 2.2.2 Theory of semantics……………………………………………… …………13 2.2.2.1 Definitions………………………………………………………….….….13 2.2.2.2 Kinds of meanings……………………………………………….… ……15 2.2.2.3 Components of meanings………………………………………… …… 16 2.3 An overview of idioms in terms of syntactic and semantic features……… 18 2.3.1 Definition of idioms……………………………………………………….….18 2.3.2 Classification of idioms………………………………………………… … 20 iii 2.3.3.Structure of idioms…………………………………………………….… … 21 2.3.4.Semantics of idioms………………………………………………….…… …22 2.3.5 Idioms versus proverbs ……………………………………………… …… 24 2.4 Summary ………………………………………………….………………… …25 Chapter 3: A COMPARISON BETWEEN SYNTACTIC FEATURES AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF IDIOMS CONTAINING THE WORD “CAT” IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE.………………………………… ………………26 3.1.Syntactic and semantic features of idioms containing the word“cat”in English ……………………………………………………………………………… 26 3.1.1 Syntactic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in English …….… 26 3.1.2 Semantic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in English… …… .27 3.2 Syntactic and semantic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in Vietnamese …………………………………………………………………….….….31 3.2.1 Syntactic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in Vietnamese … 31 3.2.2 Semantic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in Vietnamese… ….32 3.3 Similarities and differences between syntactic features and semantic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese……… … ….38 3.3.1 In terms of syntax………… .……… ……………………….…….38 3.3.2 In terms of semantics…………… ……… ………………………… 39 3.4 Implications of the findings……………………………….………………… 41 3.4.1 For Teaching and Learning Idioms …………………………………………41 3.4.2 For Translation of Animal Idioms ……………………………….………… 42 3.5 Summary……………………………………………………………… … ……42 Chapter 4: CONCLUSION ……………………………………………… ……… 44 4.1 Recapitulation…………………………………………………………………….44 4.2 Concluding remarks ……………………………………………….….………….45 4.3 Limitation of the research …………………………… …………….….……… 46 4.4 Recommendations/Suggestions for further research …………………………….46 REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………………….48 APPENDIX……………………………………………………………………………52 iv ABSTRACT In the English language, idioms are one of issues that have never been studied exhaustively There are many interesting topics in this valuable treasure of the language, and the animal one is not an exception Among the animals, “cat” is concerned, therefore, I would like to choose the humble thesis ‘‘Idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese from the syntactic and semantic perspectives” The purpose of the study is to help learners of English master the syntactic and semantic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese The study focuses on answering the questions about the syntactic and semantic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese, similarities and differences between idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese and what implication is drawn for learning idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese In the research, the descriptive and comparative methods are used The thesis draws some findings as follows: syntactically, idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese consist of the common structures However, noun phrase structures in English idioms posses a bigger number than Vietnamese ones Semantically, these idioms have literal meaning and idiomatic meaning Idioms containing the word “cat” have the positive meanings, negative meanings and neutral meanings However, the number of good points in English idioms is bigger than that of good points in Vetnamese idioms The results of the research are significant Theoretically, the results of the study will provide a full description of syntactic and semantic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese Practically, the research results will be useful for improving English teaching and learning English v LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS A C N NP O Pre V : : : : : : : Adjective Complement Noun Noun phrase Object Preposition Verb vi LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES Page Table 2.1 The most common clause patterns spanned by idioms…………………….23 Table 2.2 Structures of idioms ………………….……………………… ……… 24 Table 3.1 Structures of idioms containing the word “cat” in English…………… …32 Table 3.2 : Idioms expressing good points in English………………………… ……33 Table 3.2 : Idioms expressing bad points in English………………………….………33 Table 3.3 : Idioms expressing good points in Vietnamese……………… …….… 40 Table 3.4 : Idioms expressing bad points in Vietnamese………………… …… .41 vii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Nowadays, English has been widely used in Vietnam It is also a compulsory subject in many schools, colleges and universities It is clear that people who want to master English should grasp its idiomatic expressions among other things Obviously, to master a language, people cannot help studying idioms, one of the most valuable treasures of the language In daily communication, we can see the frequent appearance of idioms Anyone who much concerns idioms owns a very attractive and academic manner of speaking In written texts, as well, writers use many idioms In the past, there were a lot of studies about idioms of animals, but nobody studies about only “cat” Studying English idioms in comparison with Vietnamese ones, we can find the similarities and differences to help learners of English to understand and use the English and Vietnamese idioms effectively Being interested in idioms and after teaching English for a long time and we found that students find idioms difficult to learn and remember, therefore, the topic: “Idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese from the syntactic and semantic perspectives” was chosen for the master thesis With the aim of presenting an overview of idioms in general and idiomatic expressions concerning the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese in particular, we hope this thesis will partly help learners and translators avoid difficulties in realizing and translating English idioms into Vietnamese and vice versa However, due to different language structures and cultural background, learners of English in Vietnam have to face many difficulties and among which How to use English idiomatic expressions containing the word “cat” effectively, and find some appropriate Vietnamese ones’ is one of the most complicated In reality, learners seem to pay inadequate attention to idiomatic expressions containing the word “cat” though they have a very early contact with them As a result, they frequently fail to use them satisfactorily We have also found that idiomatic expressions containing the word “cat” are complicated but very interesting and useful in both oral and written communication Thus, we are eager for choosing the above thesis 1.2.Aims and objectives of the study 1.2.1.Aims: The study is intended to help learners of English master the syntactic and semantic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese 1.2.2 Objectives The thesis is conducted in attempt to: - identify the syntactic and semantic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese - find out the similarities and differences between idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese - give some implications for translation, teaching learning idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese effectively 1.3 Research questions During the process of teaching English as a second language, we find some difficulties in using idioms containing the word “cat” in two languages: English, and Vietnamese This study, therefore, would try to answer the following questions: - What are the syntactic and semantic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese? - What are similarities and differences between idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese ? - What implication is drawn for translation, teaching and learning idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese? 1.4 Methods of the study This study is to be conducted as a descriptive study that utilizes both quantitative and qualitative approaches The quantitative analysis is employed through the process of data collected from various sources as thesis, books, magazines, website sources and think- aloud reports to examine the differences and the similarities of idioms especially idioms containing the word “cat” in two languages The meanings of idioms, in accordance with their syntactic and semantic features, are described and interpreted with means of descriptive method and a powerful source of dictionaries and document In addition, the qualitative one is used to deal with the data collected from interviews with a lot of professors The combination of these data collection methods will help the author achieve the aims of the study In addition, the study describes and compares the syntactic and semantic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese and then Chapter : CONCLUSION 4.1 Recapitulation There are thousands of idioms in English and Vietnamese Both languages are rich in images and have a lot of idioms And among them, idioms using the images of animals take a large portion Both cultures share the same capabilities of thought, the same laws of cognition and a common, universal morality Moreover, some animals have the same important role in people’s lives in the two cultures, and have the same attributes and features Therefore, we have a large number of similar proverbs and idioms related to animals However, England and Vietnam have different history, different customs and different religions They have different connotations of some animals in life Those proverbs and idioms born from the historical fact, local custom or specific religion convey different messages though they use the same images of animals From some concepts and classifications of idioms in English and Vietnamese, we gave the meaning and use of some idioms based on the image of cats in English and Vietnamese The study was started with the theory of syntactics, semantics, concepts and classifications, structure and semantics of idioms in general and of those based on cats in particular Then some explanations of structure, meaning and the use of idioms based on this lovely pet in both English and Vietnamese were presented in details After that we focused on the comparison between syntax and semantics of idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese In general, to understand fully and clearly these proverbs and idioms is very difficult as it is related to many fields such as: history, geography, literature, society, etc Moreover, English is spoken in many countries and Vietnamese is strongly affected by Chinese, so their proverbs and idioms are affected and changed so much Therefore, it will take a long time to study the idioms and proverbs in general, and idioms based on the image of cats in particular in English and Vietnamese We have tried my best to this graduation paper with the hope that my paper will help the leaners of English, in some ways, enrich their knowledge of idioms based on cats' image in English and Vietnamese And it also helps me comprehend the matter in translating proverbs and idioms from English into Vietnamese and vice versa On the other hands, this paper may be my first step in 44 my linguistic study Finally, in this graduation paper, we hardly avoid making some mistakes, so all the comments from the teachers and friends are welcome Definitely, linguistics is considered as a very broad and appealing academic field Through the process of doing this study, although we just focused on a quite small part about the animal-based comparative idioms with the pattern “as…as”, sometimes we found it overwhelming to understand fully this type of idioms multilaterally However, the more we consulted reference materials, the more interesting the issue turned out to be Due to the limited time frame and my modest knowledge of culture and language, that some idioms and linguistic views were not covered is inevitable Anyways, we tried my best as much as possible to convey to readers at least the overview of similarities and differences in English and Vietnamese animal-based idioms of comparison After contrasting and comparing many idioms, analyzing related concerns, we hold on hope that somehow my paper could be a helpful and informative material for teaching, learning and translation Furthermore, through my paper we wish to look for an interesting way to help students take in knowledge instead of learning by heart Importantly, students could utilize what they have learnt as an effective communicative means but not a temporary solution to the school exam 4.2 Concluding remarks The thesis has applied the general theoretical achievements of syntax and semantics to investigate the idioms containing the word “cat” in English and Vietnamese to find out the similarities and differences in structure and semantic characteristics are reflected The thesis draws some conclusions as follows : Idioms containing the word “cat” from the syntactic features in English consist of the following common structures such as Verb + Oject/Complement ( and /or adverbial ), preposition phrase, compound, similile, binominal and whole clause or sentence Semantically, these idioms have two meanings: literal meaning and idiomatic meaning In English idioms containing the word “cat” we can find the positive meanings, negative meanings and neutral meanings The syntactic features of idioms containing the word “cat” in Vietnamese are varied Syntactically, they are also common structures They are formed from Verb + Oject/Complement ( and /or adverbial ), compound, similile, binominal and whole clause or sentence The semantics features of these idioms consist of literal meaning and idiomatic meaning Although idioms containing the word “cat” in Vietnamese 45 contain positive meanings, negative meanings and neutral meanings, cat’s idioms are negative meanings in most ones In terms of syntactic features, idioms are sorted into common patterns in which the verb phrase plays the most important role in both language idioms Structurally , sentence structure is also a popular type of idioms However, noun phrase structures in English idioms posses a bigger number than Vietnamese ones In terms of semantics features, both English and Vietnamese idioms containing the word “cat” expresses the expressions such as good points, bad points and neutral points Besides, they have equal rate denoting negative meanings We can also see some differences between them The number of good points in English idioms is bigger than that of good points in Vetnamese idioms The research states some pedagogical implications for teaching, learning, translating and mastering English as a foreign language * For Teaching and Learning Idioms The result of the study may be beneficial to learners and teachers of both languages The study provides teachers with the additional reference source that may be helpful in their teaching For students, the thesis may be used as a material or reference book in their study *For Translation of Animal Idioms Translators can translate idioms related to animals in general and especially idioms relating the “cat”, basing on the results from this study and theories of translation 4.3 Limitation of the study The paper is carried out on the basis of the limited data source due to the limit of time and difficulty in approaching sources and references for the study Moreover, with limited ability and inexperience in conducting a research, some weaknesses and limitations are inevitable We would be very grateful to those that take interest in this study with comments, advice, and adjustment The sincere, useful ideas are very valuable to make this paper more fulfilled, clearer, and more perfect 4.4 Suggestions for further research This study has been carried out to analyze the similarities and differences of cats connotation in English and Vietnamese idioms, but because of limited time and ability, the author didn’t cover all aspects of animal idioms but connotations 46 of cats idioms with the limited data sources There are still some fields in this topic that need to be explored So, we would like to suggest some further researches on the following aspects: - Pragmatic analysis of Animals in English and Vietnamese - Animal idioms in literary works or newspaper 47 REFERENCES In English Anh, Đỗ Quỳnh (2004), Graduation paperp/: A Contrastive Analysis on English and Vietnamese Idioms of Comparison, VNU-CFL, Hanoi Asher and Simson (1994) , The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics Asher, R.E (ed.) (1994) The encyclopedia of language and linguistics Barthes (1974) , S/Z , Hill and Wang Cambridge Dictionary Collins’s Colbuild Dictionary’s idioms Cowie, A.P Mackin, R & I.R Mc Caig (1993) Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms David Crytal ( 2003), English as a global language ,Cambridge University Press Fernado, C (1996) Idioms and Idiomaticity Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press 10 Fernando ( 1996), Idioms and Idiomaticity, Oxford University Press 11 Flavell, Linda & Roger (1992) Dictionary of Idioms and Their origins Kyle Cathie Ltd 12 Hà, Lê Thu (2001), Graduation Paper: A contrastive Analysis on Animal-based Comparison Idioms in English and Vietnamese, VNU-CFL, Hanoi 13 Homby, A.S (1995), Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, OUP, Oxford 14 Hung , Nguyễn Văn (2016) , A contrastive analysis of proverbs and idioms relating to animals in English and Vietnameses equivalents 15 Jeremiah Bourque , literal and figurative meanings 16 Lyon 1977) , Semantics , Cambridge University Press 17 Manser (1997), A Dictionary of Everyday Idioms, Pearson English Language Teaching; 2nd edition (October 21, 1997) 18 Mc Carthy and O’ Dell (2003), Vocabulary in Use, Cambridge University Press 19 Nguyễn Thị Nga, Graduation Paper: “A contrastive analysis on animal-based comparison idioms in English and Vietnamese” 20 Như , Phạm Thị Tố Như (2008) , Graduation Paper: “A study on some characteristics of structure, meaning and culture of English idioms about animals” 48 21 Nhung, Vũ Thị Tuyết (2000), Scientific Research: Some Suggestions for learning English Idioms through Learning about Animal-Related Idioms, Hanoi Foreign University, Hanoi 22 Oxford Advanced Learners’s Dictionary(1995) 23 Oxford Dictionary of English dioms 24 Oxford University Press, 1995 25 Palmer, F.R (1981), Semantics, CUP, Cambridge 26 Palner(1970) , A research “Language learning”, University of Michigan 27 Richard A.S (1994), NTC's American Idioms Dictionary, National Textbook Company, Illinois 28 Richard Nordquist ( 2020), Passages 4e, St Martin's Press (December 1, 2000) 29 S eidl, J & Mordie, W.Mc (1988), English Idioms, OUP, London 30 Silverman (1983) , The Subject of Semiotics ,Oxford University Press 31 Strassler (1982) , Idioms in English 32 The American heritage dictionary of the English language, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2000 33 Trang , Đỗ Thị Thu , graduation Paper “A Study on Comparative Idioms” 34 Wild (1987) 35 Winogradow ( 1997), The design of interaction, Copernicus Imprinf of Springer-Verlag 175 Fifth Avenue New York, NY United States 36 Wright (2002) In Vietnamese 37 Chu Thị Hảo (1995), Nghĩa thành ngữ có thành tố vật thể tượng tự nhiên tiếng Việt, Luận văn Thạc sĩ, Trường ĐHSP Hà Nội 38 Hoàng Văn Hành (1987), “Thành ngữ tiếng Việt”, Văn hoá dân gian, 39 Hoàng Văn Hành (1994), Kể chuyện thành ngữ, tục ngữ, Nxb Khoa học xã hội, Hà Nội 40.Hoàng Văn Hành(2004),Thành ngữ học tiếng Việt,Nxb Khoa học xã hội, Hà Nội 41 Lương Văn Đang (1978), Thành ngữ tiếng Việt, Nxb KHXH, Hà 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Nam – Những vấn đề ngơn ngữ văn hố, Trường Đại học ngoại ngữ, Hà Nội 54 Viết Chương (2004), Từ điển thành ngữ, tục ngữ, ca dao Việt Nam, Nxb Đồng Nai, Đồng Nai Viện ngôn ngữ học (2004), Từ điển tiếng Việt, Nxb Đà Nẵng 55.Vũ Dung (2000), Từ điển thành ngữ tục ngữ Việt Nam, Nxb Văn hoá, Hà Nội 56.Vũ Ngọc Phan (2000), Tục ngữ, ca dao, dân ca Việt Nam, Nxb Văn học, Hà Nội 57 Vũ Thuý Anh (2000], Từ điển thành ngữ tục ngữ Việt Nam, Nxb Văn học, Hà Nội From Internet websites 58 Cambridge Dictionnary 59.https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/englishfrench/idiom 60 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/variant 61 http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sven_Ullmann 62 http://www.usingenglish.com/idiom catergory 63 Martin, G (1996) English Proverbs Retrieved 2010, from The Phrase Finder: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/proverbs.html 50 64 Oxford English Dictionary 1st April 2011 , http://oed.com 65.Idioms (2010) Retrieved 2010, from The Free Dictionary: http://idiomstoday.com/proverbs 66.Torbert, M (1999) English sayings and English Proverbs Retrieved 2010, from Proverbs and English sayings: http://www.english-sayings.com 67.http :// Philosophy.hku.hk 51 APPENDIX I Idioms of “cats” in Vietnamese Anh em chó với mèo : Khi anh em gia đình hay mâu thuẫn, cãi lộn 2.Ăn nhạt biết thương mèo : Chỉ kẻ cảnh ngộ thương yêu Ăn nhỏ nhẻ mèo: Là ăn từ tốn, miếng Phụ nữ ăn nhỏ nhẻ khen có nết Nhưng đàn ơng ăn mèo bị chê bai, cho tật xấu Bèo nhèo mèo vật đống rơm Buộc cổ mèo, treo cổ chó: Nói kẻ hà tiện, có tính bủn xỉn 6.Có ăn nhạt thương tới mèo: Ngụ ý người ta có lâm cảnh khổ biết thương người khơng may mắn 7.Cơm treo, mèo nhịn đói : Tình trớ trêu, đám đông khác giới mà phải cô đơn Chẳng biết mèo cắn mỉu nào: nghĩa bóng nói người có sở trường riêng người ấy, chưa Chó chê mèo lơng: Phê phán kẻ khơng thấy lỗi mình, mà thấy lỗi người 10 Chó ghét đứa gặm xương, mèo thương người hay nhử 11 Chó gio, mèo mù: Dùng để chê người đần độn, ngu ngốc 12 Chó giữ nhà, mèo bắt chuột: ý nói có nghề nghiệp chun mơn mình, đừng tị nạnh nhau, đừng can thiệp vào việc 13 Chó khơ, mèo lạc: Chê hạng người khơng có tài 14 Chó tha đi, mèo tha lại: Nói vật vơ giá trị bỏ lăn lóc chẳng thèm lấy 15 Chó treo, mèo đậy : Đó kinh nghệm cảnh giác khả ăn vụng mèo 16 Chuột cắn dây buộc mèo: Làm ơn cho kẻ hại 17 Chuột gặm chân mèo: Làm việc liều lĩnh, nguy hiểm 18 Chữ viết mèo quào : Viết chữ cẩu thả, xấu 19.Chửi chó mắng mèo: Ai tức giận người khác cách chửi mắng vu vơ 20.Đá mèo, qo chó : bực người khác mà trút giận qua vật nuôi nhà 52 21 Giấu mèo giấu cứt : Câu ý chê người giấu diếm thứ gì, điều kỹ 22 Hùm hươu mèo thịt 23 Im im mèo ăn vụng : Để ám kẻ cố tình che giấu tội lỗi cách im lặng tuyệt đối, kẻ thấy lợi giấu giếm hưởng 24 Khơng có chó bắt mèo ăn cứt : Ý nói phải dùng người tình bất đắc dĩ, không với sở trường, khả người 25 Làm mèo mửa; 26 Lèo nhèo mèo vật đống rơm 27 Lôi mèo sổ chuột: (Sổ: làm sẩy mất) thẫn thờ, ngơ ngác người tiếc rẻ, trót lầm lỡ dịp may 28 Mắng chó chửi mèo 29 Mèo cào không xẻ vách vôi: Ngụ ý khuyên trước làm việc phải tự lượng sức mình, cố gắng cho vơ ích 30 Mèo bắt chuột cống 31 Mèo đàng chó điếm : Chỉ đối tượng khơng gì, lưu manh 32.Mèo đến nhà khó, chó đến nhà giàu : Do quan niệm mê tín, người ta cho tự dưng mèo đến nhà thường mang lại điều xui xẻo 33 Mèo già hóa cáo 34 Mèo già khóc chuột 35 Mèo già thua gan chuột nhắt 36 Mèo hoang lại gặp chó hoang; anh ăn trộm gặp nàng bứt khoai 37 Mèo khen mèo dài đuôi: Tự đề cao, khen ngợi 38.Mèo lại hồn mèo 39 Mèo lành nỡ cắt tai; gái chồng rẫy khoe tài làm chi? 40 Mèo già ăn trộm, mèo ốm phải đòn : Kẻ tinh ranh, lọc lõi làm điều xấu xa lại đổ vấy cho người khác phải chịu hậu 41 Mèo lành chẳng mả; ả lành chẳng hàng :Người gái đứng đắn không la cà hàng quán 42 Mèo mả gà đồng: ám hạng người vô lại, trai trộm cướp, gái lăng loàn khiến khinh ghét 43 Mèo mù móc cống: 53 Chỉ kẻ khơng cịn phương kế sinh nhai 44 Mèo mù vớ cá rán: Vận may bất ngờ đến với kẻ nghèo hèn túng quẫn 45 Mèo nhỏ bắt chuột con: Khuyên biết liệu sức mà đảm đương cơng việc Tài hèn sức mọn mà ham đảm trách việc lớn chuốc lấy thất bại 46 Mèo tha miếng thịt xơn xao; hùm tha lợn thấy chi 47 Mèo uống nước bể chẳng cạn: Khuyên người biết tiện tặn chi tiêu khơng sợ túng 48 Mèo vật đụn rơm: Chỉ kẻ tài thơ trí thiển mà muốn cáng đáng việc lớn lao sức mình, khơng với khả cho phép 49 Mỡ để miệng mèo: ý nói đặt trước mặt người ta thứ mà người ta mong muốn, thèm khát 50 Như mèo thấy mỡ: Giễu người hăm hở trước thứ thèm muốn 51 Rình mèo rình chuột: Sự kiên nhẫn, siêng việc 52 Rửa mặt mèo : Hoặc người có tính cẩu thả, hời hợt, làm việc ẩu, không đến nơi đến chốn 53 Sắc nanh, chuột dễ cắn cổ mèo: Dù kẻ thù nguy hiểm đến cỡ có mưu mẹo, có phương tiện thắng 54.Tiu nghỉu mèo cắt tai: ý nói thất vọng nên buồn rầu lắm, khơng muốn nói năng, khơng muốn làm 55.Thỏ vuốt râu, mèo rửa mặt 56.Yêu chó với mèo : Tình yêu, bè bạn sớm nắng chiều mưa, hay cãi nhau, bất hoà 54 II Idioms of “cats” in English 1.A bag of cats : A bad-tempered person 2.A cat can look at a king 3.A cat has nine lives 4.A cat in gloves catches no mice 5.A cool cat – Stylish person – Những người phong cách 6.A dead cat on the line 7.A fat cat – Rich person – Người giàu có, có nhiều cải quyền lực 8.A fiery, ill-tempered person 9.A kick at the cat 10.A scalded cat fears hot water 11.A scaredy cat/ fraidy cat – chế giễu kẻ nhút nhát sợ sệt 12.A shy cat makes a proud mouse : A slightly derogatory comment on someone's arrival 13.A stray cat 14.All cats are gray in the dark: All persons are undistinguished until they have made a name 15.As much chance as a wax cat in hell: There is no chance at all 16.As nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs: 17.Be the cat's whiskers 18.Bell the cat, who will black as a skillet 19.Busier than a one-eyed cat watching two mouse holes: 20.Busy as a beaver cat 21.Cat and mouse, game of/to play 22.Cat burglar – A burglar who breaks into buildings through upper windows, skylights – Đạo chích xuất quỷ nhập thần, thường thâm nhập vào nhà qua cửa sổ mái nhà, nhẹ nhàng chuyên nghiệp 23.Cat fight – an altercation between two women, often characterized as scratching, slapping, hair-pulling, and shirt-shredding – Trận chiến hai người phụ nữ 24.Cat got your tongue 25.Cat in the pan (cat-in-the-pan): Kẻ trở mặt, kẻ phản bội 26.Cat in the sack 55 27.Cat’s cradle 28.Cat’s Meow 29.Cat-and-dog: Resembling or having the character of the proverbial antagonism between cats and dogs 30.Cat-and-mouse game 31.Catnap – Take a nap – ngủ trưa, chợp mắt 32.Cats can survive accidents that would kill most animals 33.Cat's claw 34.Cat's cradle 35.Cat's pajamas 36.Cat's paw 37.Cat-soup 38.Conceited as a barber's cat: very conceited 39.Copycat – chép, bắt chước 40.Couldn't cuss a cat without getting fur in your mouth: 41.Curiosity killed the cat: Be cautious when investigating situations 42.Cheshire cat 43.Dead cat bounce: An automatic recovery in a financial market 44.Dead cat on the line: Something suspicious or 'fishy' is going on 45.Emotional support dog/cat/etc 46.Enough to make a cat laugh: Something that is ridiculously silly 47.Faster than a cat lapping chain lightning 48.Feel as if a cat has kittened in (one's) mouth 49.Fight like cats and dogs: To quarrel viciously 50.Fight like Kilkenny cats 51.For a good cat, a good rat 52.Fraidy cat 53.Grin like a Cheshire cat 54.Has the cat got your tongue? 55.Hellcat 56.Herd cats 57.High as the hair on a cat's bac: Very expensive 58.Honest as the cat when the meat's out of reach: 59.Hotter than a six peckered alley cat: A person of loose morals 56 60.I began to feed the alley cat and now it comes to my house every day 61.I smell a rat: Thinking there is something hidden or concealed 63.It's raining cats and dogs: It's raining very hard 64.It's raining pitchforks 65.Keep no more cats than will catch mice: 66.lead a cat and dog life 67.Let sleeping cats lie: Leave things as they are 68.Let the cat out of the bag – To reveal a secret or a surprise by accident – Làm lộ hết bí mật 69.Like a cat on a hot tin roof 70.Like a cat on hot bricks: Someone with frayed nerves; jumpy 71.Like a scalded cat – very quickly 72.Like cats and dogs 73.Like herding cats – difficult/impossible 74.Like the cat that stole the cream 75.Live under the cat's foot 76.Look like something the cat dragged in 77.Look like the cat that got the cream 78.Look like the cat that swallowed/ate the canary 79.Mad enough to kick a cat – Very angry – Giận điên người 80.No room to swing a cat 81.Not a cat in hell's chance 82.Not enough room to swing a cat – very confined 83 Painted cat 84.play cat and mouse with :Playing a game of strategy and stealth, or playing in a cruel or teasing way 85.Purr like a cat 86.Put a cat among pigeons – can’t get along with others – đem mèo vào đám chim bồ câu, mối quan hệ mồi kẻ săn mồi, chung sống hịa bình 87.Put the cat among the pigeons 88.Rub (someone) the wrong way 89.See which way the cat jumps 90.Set the cat among the pigeons 57 91.She’s the cat’s mother 92.Shoot the cat 93.Sling the cat 94.Smiling like a Cheshire cat 95.To bell a cat: To the impossible It is easily suggested, but once suggested, no one will volunteer to it 96.To live a cat and dog life: To always be arguing 97.To make a cat laugh 98.Who will bell the cat: Hi sinh/chấp nhận làm khó khăn 99.To turn cat in the pan: Trở mặt; thay đổi ý kiến (lúc lâm nguy); phản hồi 100.The cat is out the bag: Điều bí mật bị tiết lộ 101.The cat would eat fish, but would not wet her feet 102.The cat’s whiskers/pyjamas – an excellent person or thing, of the highest quality 103.There's more than one way to skin a cat: 104.There's not enough room to swing a cat: 105.Throw the cat among the pigeons 106.Walk like a cat on eggs: Tread very lightly 107.Walk the cat back: To attempt to understand the true nature of a situation by reconstructing events chronologically from the present to the past 108.Weak as a cat/ a kitten – Very weak, ineffective, fragile – Yếu ớt 109.When the cat's away, the mice will play: Without supervision, people misbehave 110.whip the cat 111.who will bell the cat 112.who's she—the cat's mother? Will not steal if he's likely to be caught 113.Your presentation must have gone well 114.You look like the cat that swallowed the canary 58