chìm nổi

Vietnamese

Etymology

chìm (“to be sunk”) +‎ nổi (“to float”), calque of Chinese 沉浮 (trầm phù, “to sink and then float”).

Pronunciation

  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [t͡ɕim˨˩ noj˧˩]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [t͡ɕim˦˩ noj˧˨]
  • (Saigon) IPA(key): [cim˨˩ noj˨˩˦]

Verb

chìm nổi • (沉𬈗)

  1. to sink and then float (especially repeatedly)
  2. (figurative) to struggle in the vicissitudes
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