bó tay

Vietnamese

Etymology

From bó (“to tie”) +‎ tay (“hands”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɔ˧˦ taj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɔ˨˩˦ taj˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʔɓɔ˦˥ ta(ː)j˧˧]

Verb

bó tay

1. (colloquial) to feel hopeless because there is nothing you can do to help or improve a bad situation

   Thằng đó nói mãi chả nghe. Tao bó tay với nó luôn.

   He never listens to me. I just can't even with him.