mò kim đáy bể
Vietnamese
Etymology
Compare Chinese 海底摸針 (hải để mạc châm).
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [mɔ˨˩ kim˧˧ ʔɗaj˧˦ ʔɓe˧˩]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [mɔ˦˩ kim˧˧ ʔɗaj˨˩˦ ʔɓej˧˨]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [mɔ˨˩ kim˧˧ ʔɗaj˦˥ ʔɓej˨˩˦]
Verb
mò kim đáy bể
- (idiomatic) to look for a needle in a haystack; literally "to blindly look for a needle at the bottom of the ocean"