rào trước đón sau

Vietnamese

Etymology

rào (“to fence in”) +‎ trước (“beforehand”) +‎ đón (“to meet”) +‎ sau (“afterward”)

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zaːw˨˩ t͡ɕɨək̚˧˦ ʔɗɔn˧˦ saw˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʐaːw˦˩ ʈɨək̚˦˧˥ ʔɗɔŋ˦˧˥ ʂaw˧˧] ~ [ʐaːw˦˩ ʈɨək̚˦˧˥ ʔɗɔŋ˦˧˥ saw˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɹaːw˨˩ ʈɨək̚˦˥ ʔɗɔŋ˦˥ ʂa(ː)w˧˧] ~ [ɹaːw˨˩ ʈɨək̚˦˥ ʔɗɔŋ˦˥ sa(ː)w˧˧]

Verb

rào trước đón sau

1. (idiomatic) to cleverly point out something infelicitous in advance so that the listener will be understanding when it occurs and find it difficult to fault the speaker; to be careful with one's words; to be on the defensive

Synonyms

• (to cleverly point out something infelicitous in advance): rào đón, đón rào

See also

• mượn cớ
• nói thẳng

References

• "rào trước đón sau" in Hồ Ngọc Đức, Free Vietnamese Dictionary Project (details)