tai to mặt lớn
Vietnamese
Etymology
Calque of Chinese 肥頭大耳 (phì đầu đại nhĩ, literally “big head and big ears”), from tai (“ear”) + to (“big”) + mặt (“face”) + lớn (“big”).
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [taːj˧˧ tɔ˧˧ mat̚˧˨ʔ ləːn˧˦]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [taːj˧˧ tɔ˧˧ mak̚˨˩ʔ ləːŋ˦˧˥]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [taːj˧˧ tɔ˧˧ mak̚˨˩˨ ləːŋ˦˥]
Idiom
tai to mặt lớn
- (of a person, derogatory) having power or influence in society; powerful; influential