được voi đòi tiên

verb

Hanoi [ʔɗɨək̚˧˨ʔ vɔj˧˧ ʔɗɔj˨˩ tiən˧˧]Huế [ʔɗɨək̚˨˩ʔ vɔj˧˧ ʔɗɔj˦˩ tiəŋ˧˧]Saigon [ʔɗɨək̚˨˩˨ vɔj˧˧ ʔɗɔj˨˩ tiəŋ˧˧] browser voice

Syllables · tones

đượcheavynặng voilevelngang đòifallinghuyền tiênlevelngang

Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →

Meanings of được voi đòi tiên in English

Verb

idiomatic to be greedy or entitled and ask much more than deserved

Example sentences with được voi đòi tiên

Đừng có mà được voi đòi tiên. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).

Etymology

Literally, “to have got an elephant and then ask for fairies”.

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce được voi đòi tiên?

IPA: Hanoi [ʔɗɨək̚˧˨ʔ vɔj˧˧ ʔɗɔj˨˩ tiən˧˧]; Saigon [ʔɗɨək̚˨˩˨ vɔj˧˧ ʔɗɔj˨˩ tiəŋ˧˧]. Tones: được — heavy tone (nặng), voi — level tone (ngang), đòi — falling tone (huyền), tiên — level tone (ngang).

Meanings, pronunciation and etymology from English Wiktionary (wiktionary.org, via kaikki.org; CC BY-SA 4.0), reviewed and edited; example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). IPA shown for three accents: Hanoi (Northern), Huế (Central) and Saigon (Southern). The Listen button uses your browser's Vietnamese voice, for reference only. Spotted a mistake? Let NgonNgu know.