NOI LAI - Vietnamese Play of Words

"Nói Lái" is a form of play-of-words common in the Vietnamese language, both spoken and written, involving transposition of sounds between adjacent or nearby words. It is usually used to inject humour into what one says, and/or to require the listener to think a little before understanding the real meaning.

Example 1: "Ðầu tiên" and "Tiền đâu"
"Ðầu tiên" becomes, in nói lái, "tiền đâu". Thus,
- the "đầu tięn" step (the first step of all - đầu: first, tiên: of all) becomes the first step in a rampantly corrupt system, ie.
- the "tiền đâu" step (the "where is the money" step - tiền: money, đâu: where).
This saying started to gain popularity after the fall of Saigon in April 1975. This is straightforward nói lái, involving 1 simple transposition.

Example 2: "Lộng kiếng" and "Liệng cống"
After the fall of Saigon in April 1975, the Communist victors flexed their muscles by requiring students in all grades to learn about Ho Chi Minh and the Communist Party (this is still going on today) and all dwellings to display a picture of Ho Chi Minh. The people showed their disdain by saying they would love to
- "lộng kiếng" the picture, ie. to frame it in a glass frame (Literally: "lộng" means to frame, "kiếng" means glass). But the real meaning was:
- "liệng cống" the picture, ie. to throw it down the sewers (Literally: "liệng" means to throw, "cống" means sewers. This is also simple nói lái with 1 transposition, except that the "k" and "c" sound identical but are different letters.

Example 3: "Ðập chuông" and "Ði tắm"
This is a more elaborate, multi-stage Noi Lai. If a person is going to the shower, he/she might be said to "đập chuông":
- "đập chuông", ie. to break the bell (Literally: "đập" means to break, "chuông" means a bell). After the first (somewhat loose) transposition, it becomes
- "đâm chuột", ie. to stab the mouse (Literally: "đâm" means to stab, "chuột" means a mouse). Unlike Example 1, here the transposition is somewhat loose. Stricter transpositions would be "đâng chuộp", or "đuộng châp", but here all 4 words are non-existent in the language.
- But "chuột" has an equivalent: "tí", which means "a mouse" or "a little bit". So the above becomes
- "đâm tí", ie. to stab a mouse, or to stab a little bit. After a further (again slightly loose) transposition, it becomes
- "đi tắm", ie. to go to the shower or to bathe (literally: "đi" means to go, "tắm" means shower or bath)

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