ác giả ác báo

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 恶 (“evil”), 者 (“people”), 恶 (“evil”) and 報 (“revenge”). Literally, “evil people will be returned with evil”.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔaːk̚˧˦ zaː˧˩ ʔaːk̚˧˦ ʔɓaːw˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔaːk̚˦˧˥ jaː˧˨ ʔaːk̚˦˧˥ ʔɓaːw˨˩˦]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔaːk̚˦˥ jaː˨˩˦ ʔaːk̚˦˥ ʔɓaːw˦˥]

Idiom

ác giả ác báo

1. (idiomatic, of bad actions) what goes around comes around, you reap what you sow, as you sow, so shall you reap.