nhất nam viết hữu, thập nữ viết vô

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 一 (“one”), 男 (“male”), 曰 (“means”) and 有 (“yes”)

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɲət̚˧˦ naːm˧˧ viət̚˧˦ hiw˦ˀ˥ tʰəp̚˧˨ʔ nɨ˦ˀ˥ viət̚˧˦ vo˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ɲək̚˦˧˥ naːm˧˧ viək̚˦˧˥ hɨw˧˨ tʰəp̚˨˩ʔ nɨ˧˨ viək̚˦˧˥ vow˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ɲək̚˦˥ naːm˧˧ viək̚˦˥ hɨw˨˩˦ tʰəp̚˨˩˨ nɨ˨˩˦ viək̚˦˥ vow˧˧] ~ [ɲək̚˦˥ naːm˧˧ jiək̚˦˥ hɨw˨˩˦ tʰəp̚˨˩˨ nɨ˨˩˦ jiək̚˦˥ jow˧˧]

Proverb

nhất nam viết hữu, thập nữ viết vô

(literally) one boy means one, ten girls mean none
(figurative) only boys are worth having

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