ba ba ấp bóng

Vietnamese

Etymology

Literally, “soft-shell turtle broods its shadow”. This is referring to the fact that, turtles don't actually have to brood their eggs, but still linger near them for awhile in order to keep guard or simply to bask under the sun.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔəp̚˧˦ ʔɓawŋ͡m˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔəp̚˦˧˥ ʔɓawŋ͡m˦˧˥] ~ [ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔəp̚˦˧˥ ʔɓɔŋ˦˧˥]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔɓaː˧˧ ʔəp̚˦˥ ʔɓawŋ͡m˦˥]

Phrase

ba ba ấp bóng

1. (idiomatic) doing something that is futile and pointless