rào trước đón sau
Vietnamese
Etymology
rào (“to fence in”) + trước (“beforehand”) + đón (“to meet”) + sau (“afterward”)
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [zaːw˨˩ t͡ɕɨək̚˧˦ ʔɗɔn˧˦ saw˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [ʐaːw˦˩ ʈɨək̚˦˧˥ ʔɗɔŋ˦˧˥ ʂaw˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ɹaːw˨˩ ʈɨək̚˦˥ ʔɗɔŋ˦˥ ʂa(ː)w˧˧] ~ [ɹaːw˨˩ ʈɨək̚˦˥ ʔɗɔŋ˦˥ sa(ː)w˧˧]
Verb
rào trước đón sau
- (idiomatic) to cleverly point out something infelicitous in advance so that the listener will be understanding when it occurs and find it difficult to fault the speaker; to be careful with one's words; to be on the defensive
Synonyms
- (to cleverly point out something infelicitous in advance): rào đón, đón rào
See also
- nói thẳng
References
- "rào trước đón sau" in Hồ Ngọc Đức, Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details)