Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Phrases Describing Personalities
John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to VietnamesePod101.com. I'm John.
Nguyet: And I'm Nguyet!
John: This is Must-Know Vietnamese Slang Words and Phrases, Season 1, Lesson 14. In this lesson, you'll learn phrases describing personalities.
John: These phrases describe a certain personality trait of a person. Because these words describe personality, be careful of the context and tone when you are using them, as it can be either negative or positive depending on how you use them.
SLANG EXPRESSIONS
John: The expressions you will be learning in this lesson are:
Nguyet: mặt dày
Nguyet: nổ
Nguyet: gấu mẹ vĩ đại
Nguyet: tàu há mồm
John: Nguyet, what's our first expression?
Nguyet: mặt dày
John: literally meaning "thick face." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to be shameless."
Nguyet: [SLOW] mặt dày [NORMAL] mặt dày
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Nguyet: mặt dày
[pause - 5 sec.]
John: Use this slang expression to talk about someone being shameless.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Nguyet: [NORMAL] Sau khi lừa dối bạn gái, anh ta vẫn mặt dày đến xin tha thứ. [SLOW] Sau khi lừa dối bạn gái, anh ta vẫn mặt dày đến xin tha thứ.
John: "After cheating on his girlfriend, he shamelessly asked for her forgiveness."
Nguyet: [NORMAL] Sau khi lừa dối bạn gái, anh ta vẫn mặt dày đến xin tha thứ.
John: Okay, what's the next expression?
Nguyet: nổ
John: literally meaning "to explode." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to boast, to talk tall."
Nguyet: [SLOW] nổ [NORMAL] nổ
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Nguyet: nổ
[pause - 5 sec.]
John: Use this slang expression when you want to refer to the act of boasting or telling tall tales.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Nguyet: [NORMAL] Khi ngồi với bạn bè, anh ta thường thích nổ với họ về tiền bạc xe cộ mà anh ta có. [SLOW] Khi ngồi với bạn bè, anh ta thường thích nổ với họ về tiền bạc xe cộ mà anh ta có.
John: "He likes to boast about his car and how much money he has when his friends are around."
Nguyet: [NORMAL] Khi ngồi với bạn bè, anh ta thường thích nổ với họ về tiền bạc xe cộ mà anh ta có.
John: Okay, what's our next expression?
Nguyet: gấu mẹ vĩ đại
John: literally meaning "a great mommy bear." This is a pictograph. A momma bear represents great responsibility, love, and a protective nature toward her family. But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "wife."
Nguyet: [SLOW] gấu mẹ vĩ đại [NORMAL] gấu mẹ vĩ đại
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Nguyet: gấu mẹ vĩ đại
[pause - 5 sec.]
John: Use this slang expression when you, as a man, refer to your wife, or to talk about someone's wife. But some sensitive women can translate it as you are saying they are a big fat mother, so be careful not to offend them.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Nguyet: [NORMAL] Cả đời này tôi chỉ yêu gấu mẹ vĩ đại nhà tôi thôi. [SLOW] Cả đời này tôi chỉ yêu gấu mẹ vĩ đại nhà tôi thôi.
John: "My wife is the only great love of my life."
Nguyet: [NORMAL] Cả đời này tôi chỉ yêu gấu mẹ vĩ đại nhà tôi thôi.
John: Okay, what's the last expression?
Nguyet: tàu há mồm
John: literally meaning "open-mouth vessel.” This is a pictograph referring to someone's children as dependants. But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "children."
Nguyet: [SLOW] tàu há mồm [NORMAL] tàu há mồm
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Nguyet: tàu há mồm
[pause - 5 sec.]
John: Use this slang expression when you want to joke about your own kids or someone else's children.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Nguyet: [NORMAL] Anh ta phải làm việc chăm chỉ để nuôi 4 cái tàu há mồm ở nhà. [SLOW] Anh ta phải làm việc chăm chỉ để nuôi 4 cái tàu há mồm ở nhà.
John: "He's working very hard, as he has to feed four children at home."
Nguyet: [NORMAL] Anh ta phải làm việc chăm chỉ để nuôi 4 cái tàu há mồm ở nhà.
QUIZ
John: Okay listeners, are you ready to be quizzed on the expressions you just learned? I will describe four situations, and you will choose the right expression to use in your reply. Are you ready?
John: He can’t stop talking about his big spendings, even though he lives in a tiny apartment.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Nguyet: nổ
John: "to boast, to talk tall"
John: She asked for more money even though she still hasn't paid all her debts.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Nguyet: mặt dày
John: "to be shameless"
John: You refer to children with a pictograph.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Nguyet: tàu há mồm
John: "children"
John: His wife is so loving and caring, like a mother bear to her cubs.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Nguyet: gấu mẹ vĩ đại
John: "wife"

Outro

John: There you have it; you have mastered four Vietnamese Slang Expressions! We have more vocab lists available at VietnamesePod101.com so be sure to check them out. Thanks everyone, and see you next time!
Nguyet: Tạm biệt.

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