(literally) first cultivate the pond, second cultivate the garden, third cultivate the paddy
(agriculture) in order of ease, low overhead and profitability, aquaculture, horticulture and rice culture

nhất nước, nhì phân, tam cần, tứ giống

nhất nước, nhì phân, tam cần, tứ giống
proverb

(agriculture) in order of priority for successful culture, water, manure/fertilizer, hard work, cultivars

ta
pron

(archaic, now literary) I; me
we; us

adj

(informal) "our", Vietnamese, as opposed to Tây (“Western”), Tàu (“Chinese”) or Xiêm (“Siamese”)

tai

tai
noun

(anatomy) ear

tai - mũi - họng

tai - mũi - họng
noun

(medicine) ear, nose and throat

tai biến

tai biến
noun

(literary) accident, disaster, catastrophe
(medicine) Short for tai biến mạch máu não.

tai hoạ

tai hoạ
noun

disaster; calamity

tai nghe

tai nghe
noun

earphone; headphones

tai nạn

tai nạn
noun

an accident

tai tiếng

tai tiếng
noun

bad reputation; bad name

adj

infamous

tai to mặt lớn

tai to mặt lớn
phrase

(of a person, derogatory) having power or influence in society; powerful; influential

tai vách mạch dừng

tai vách mạch dừng
phrase

(idiomatic) walls have ears

tai ương

tai ương
noun

disaster; catastrophe

tali

tali
noun

thallium

tam

tam
num

(only in compounds) three

noun

(obsolete) younger sibling

tam cúc

tam cúc
noun

A multi-trick card game popular in northern Vietnam, played mostly by women for entertainment and at ceremonies and festivals.

tam giác

tam giác
noun

(geometry) triangle

tam giác cân

tam giác cân
noun

(geometry) isosceles triangle

tam giác long

tam giác long
noun

(paleontology) triceratops

tam giác vuông

tam giác vuông
noun

(geometry) right triangle/right-angled triangle

tam giác đều

tam giác đều
noun

(geometry) an equilateral triangle

tam khôi

tam khôi
noun

(historical, collective) the three highest winners in the imperial exam (or Confucian court exam)

tam quan

tam quan
noun

(architecture) tam quan, a Vietnamese traditional gate

tam suất

tam suất
noun

Short for quy tắc tam suất (“mathematic rule of three”).

tam thức

tam thức
noun

(algebra) a trinomial

tam tiêu

tam tiêu
noun

(traditional Chinese medicine, anatomy) triple burner

tam tòng

tam tòng
noun

(Confucianism) the three ways in which women are supposed to obey a male in their life

tam âm la

tam âm la
noun

a traditional Vietnamese musical instrument consisting of three small tuned gongs in a wooden frame; derived from the Chinese yunluo and used in nhã nhạc

tam đoạn luận

tam đoạn luận
noun

(logic) syllogism

tan

tan
verb

to melt
to dissolve, dissipate

tan hoang

tan hoang
adj

completely destroyed, devastated

tan nát

tan nát
adj

broken in pieces; crushed; ruined

tan tành

tan tành
adj

smashed to pieces

tan tác

tan tác
verb

to scatter; to fell apart in a chaotic manner

tan tầm

tan tầm
noun

end of workhours

tan vỡ

tan vỡ
verb

to break; to break down; to be shattered

tang

tang
noun

a series of events that encompasses a funeral, a burial or cremation, and a period of mourning spanning up to 3 years after the lunar date of death
(trigonometry) tangent
(music) shell (body of a drum)
(fossil word) evidence of wrongdoing
(informal) something or someone insignificant
(fossil word) mulberry
(fossil word) silkworm

tang thương

tang thương
adj

wretched; miserable; weary; enervated

tang tóc

tang tóc
adj

mourning; mournful

tanh

tanh
adj

having the smell of fresh fish

noun

(automotive) bead wire, tire cord (wire inside a tire)

tantan

tantan
noun

tantalum

tao

tao
pron

(impolite, familiar, disrepectful or hostile) I/me

tao khang

tao khang
noun

(literary, dated, idiomatic) A wife who stayed with her partner since the beginning through thick and thin

tao nhã

tao nhã
adj

refined, elegant

tay

tay
noun

(colloquial) a hand
(colloquial) an arm
(informal) a guy; a dude

tay chân

tay chân
noun

limbs
(by extension) subordinates; underlings

tay kiếm

tay kiếm
noun

swordsman

tay lái

tay lái
noun

a handlebar
Synonym of vô-lăng (“steering wheel”)

tay nải

tay nải
noun

(clothing) a kind of cloth bag

tay trắng

tay trắng
noun

(chiefly in the dual) the state of having no money

tay trắng tay đen

tay trắng tay đen
noun

(games) a choosing game similar to rock-paper-scissors, in which each player shows their hand with straight fingers, and palm-up hands ("white hands") beat palm-down hands ("black hands")

些

些
character