chìm nổi

Vietnamese

Etymology

chìm (“to be sunk”) +‎ nổi (“to float”), calque of Chinese 沉浮 (trầm phù, “to sink and then float”).

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕim˨˩ noj˧˩]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕim˦˩ noj˧˨]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [cim˨˩ noj˨˩˦]

Verb

chìm nổi • (沉𬈗)

to sink and then float (especially repeatedly)
(figuratively) to struggle in the vicissitudes

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