Five Vietnamese sayings that cluck, squeak, and low

1. Playing music to buffalo ears (Đàn gảy tai trâu)

Photo: VnExpress

Considered the work horse of Vietnam, the term buffalo evokes someone bulky and slow. In everday language, “a buffalo” may refer to someone boorish and slow-witted. I don't get it.

2. Catching fish with both hands (Bắt cá hai tay)

Photo: Jurassic Mountain Resort & Fish Park

The English equivalent of “two-timing” this phrase also suggests the subject's adventures won't end well--much like that morning I spent standing waist-deep in a river clawing at passing fish.

3. House catches fire, rats show their face (Cháy nhà ra mặt chuột)

Photo: Van Roeun

The English equivalent of “rats fleeing a sinking ship,” the Vietnamese version suggests that the truth only comes out when something bad happens. Like that time I cleaned out my dead grandfather's closet and found a large dress hanging in the back.

4. Pen down chicken dies (Bút sa gà chết)

Photo: Tang a Pau

You can’t bring back a dead chicken any more than you can un-sign a document (hence, the pen). How many times have you finished inking a lease and then immediately been overtaken by a sense of dread? First, last and security deposit? My goose is cooked.

5. A worm upsets a soup pot (Con sâu làm rầu nồi canh)

Photo: Flickr

Here we have a rotten apple spoiling the bunch—but grosser. A nice vegetable soup helps wash down a hearty meal and there's no bigger bummer than discovering a worm floating at the top. In practice, this idiom doesn’t have anything to do with soup, and is most frequently used in a situation where one guy screws up and the whole group pays. You know who I'm talking about...