anh hùng hảo hán

Vietnamese

Etymology

From anh hùng (“hero”) +‎ hảo hán (“brave man”). Literally, “as evil as a tiger”.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔajŋ̟˧˧ hʊwŋ͡m˨˩ haːw˧˩ haːn˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɛɲ˧˧ hʊwŋ͡m˦˩ haːw˧˨ haːŋ˦˧˥]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔan˧˧ hʊwŋ͡m˨˩ haːw˨˩˦ haːŋ˦˥]

Noun

anh hùng hảo hán

1. (idiomatic) brave, courageous people
2. (idiomatic, slang) thugs