cáo mượn oai hùm
Vietnamese
Etymology
From cáo (“fox”) + mượn (“borrow”) + oai (“majesty”) + hùm (“tiger”), probable calque of Chinese 狐假虎威 (hồ giả hổ uy).
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [kaːw˧˦ mɨən˧˨ʔ ʔwaːj˧˧ hum˨˩]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [kaːw˨˩˦ mɨəŋ˨˩ʔ ʔwaːj˧˧ hum˦˩]
- (Saigon) IPA(key): [kaːw˦˥ mɨəŋ˨˩˨ (ʔ)waːj˧˧ hʊm˨˩]
Phrase
- (figurative) to use powerful connections to intimidate people