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˧ˀ˨ʔ ləːn˧ˀ˦]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [taːj˧˧ tɔ˧˧ mak̚˨ˀ˨ʔ ləːŋ˦˥]
  • (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [taːj˧˧ tɔ˧˧ mak̚˨˩˨ ləːŋ˦ˀ˥]

Idiom

tai to mặt lớn

  1. (of a person, pejorative) having power or influence in society; powerful; influential
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