yêu nhiều thì ốm, ôm nhiều thì yếu
Vietnamese
Etymology
Tonal play: yêu (“to love”) – yếu (“to be weak”); ôm (“to hug”) – ốm (“to be sick”).
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔiəw˧˧ ɲiəw˨˩ tʰi˨˩ ʔom˧˦ ʔom˧˧ ɲiəw˨˩ tʰi˨˩ ʔiəw˧˦]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔiw˧˧ ɲiw˦˩ tʰɪj˦˩ ʔom˦˧˥ ʔom˧˧ ɲiw˦˩ tʰɪj˦˩ ʔiw˨˩˦]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʔiw˧˧ ɲiw˨˩ tʰɪj˨˩ ʔom˦˥ ʔom˧˧ ɲiw˨˩ tʰɪj˨˩ ʔiw˦˥]
Idiom
yêu nhiều thì ốm, ôm nhiều thì yếu
- (wordplay, humorous) love a lot and you will get sick, hug a lot and you will get weak (alluding to STD and impotence due to overindulgence)