A study on english and vietnamese idioms referring to human personality = (nghiên cứu về thành ngữ anh việt đề cập đến nhân cách con người)

VINH UNIVERSITY
FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT

PHAN THỊ TRANG

A STUDY ON ENGLISH AND
VIETNMESE IDIOMS REFERRING TO
HUMAN PERSONALITY
(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC THÀNH NGỮ ANH - VIỆT
ĐỀ CẬP ĐẾN NHÂN CÁCH CON NGƯỜI)

GRADUATION THESIS
Field: Linguistics

VINH - 2012


VINH UNIVERSITY
FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT

A STUDY ON ENGLISH AND
VIETNMESE IDIOMS REFERRING TO
HUMAN PERSONALITY
(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC THÀNH NGỮ ANH - VIỆT
ĐỀ CẬP ĐẾN NHÂN CÁCH CON NGƯỜI)

GRADUATION THESIS
Field: Linguistics

Student:
Phan Thị Trang, 49A1 English

Supervisor: Trần Bá Tiến, M.A

VINH - 2012


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I have been fortunate to receive invaluable contributions from many
people for the completion of this work. First of all, I wish to express my
deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Mr. Trần Bá Tiến, M.A for his absolutely
indispensable help, expert advice and critical comments without which the
work would not have been finished.
I am grateful to all my lecturers in Foreign languages Department,
Vinh University for providing me with useful lectures and valuable documents
so that I could have knowledge sources for this thesis.
I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to people who contributed
and who are contributing to this study with guidance and support.
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my beloved parents for the
blessings, my friends for their help and wishes for the successful completion
of this study.
Finally, I am too all aware that despite all my effort, I feel that the
study is far from perfect; it is, therefore, my sole responsibility for any
inadequacies and shortcomings that the thesis may have.

Nghe An, May 10, 2012
Phan Thi Trang

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ABSTRACT

The indispensable presence of idioms referring to human personality in
language system, especially in English and Vietnamese language has urged
the author in the study on idioms. In this thesis, the author discusses the
different concepts, the features of idioms in English and Vietnamese first and
then metaphor and concept of personality. In addition, the author deals with
personality in metaphorical idioms related to animals, plants, heart and heart.
The author proposes some suggested activities in teaching and learning
English idioms referring to personality as well.

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ABBREVIATIONS

E.g: Exempli gratia (for example)
Etc: et cetera

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................. i
ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................ii
ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................ iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS................................................................................iv
PART I: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1
1.

Justification of the study ....................................................................... 1

2.

Aims of the study .................................................................................. 2

3.

Methods of the study ............................................................................. 2

4.

Scopes of the study ................................................................................ 3

5.

Format of the study ............................................................................... 3

PART II: INVESTIGATION .......................................................................... 4
Chapter 1. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND .................................................. 4

1.1.

Definitions of idioms ............................................................................. 4

1.2.

Features of idioms ................................................................................. 5

1.2.1. Semantic feature .................................................................................... 5
1.2.2. Figurative feature .................................................................................. 7
1.2.3. Structural feature ................................................................................... 7
1.3.

General view on metaphor .................................................................... 8

1.3.1. Metaphor ............................................................................................... 8
1.3.2. The distinctions between metaphor and simile ................................... 10
1.3.3. The distinction between metaphor and metonymy ............................. 11
1.4.

Concept of personality ........................................................................ 11

1.5.

Dimensions of personality................................................................... 13

Chapter 2. ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE IDIOMS REFERRING TO
HUMAN PERSONALITY................................................................................ 14

2.1.

Personality in metaphorical idioms ..................................................... 14

2.1.1. Personality in metaphorical idioms related to animals. ..................... 15
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2.1.2. Personality in metaphorical idioms related to plants .......................... 20

2.2.

Personality in metaphorical idioms using human body parts ............. 22

2.2.1. Personality in metaphorical idioms referring to “heart” ..................... 23
2.2.2. Personality in metaphorical idioms based referring to “head” ........... 26
Chapter 3. SOME SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES FOR TEACHING AND
LEARNING ENGLISH IDIOMS REFERRING TO PERSONALITY ........... 30

3.1.

Some rules to consider when teaching English idioms ....................... 30

3.1.1. Teaching English idioms in contexts .................................................. 30
3.1.2. Teaching English idioms with rich illustrations ................................. 31
3.1.3. Teaching English idioms by providing some practice activities ........ 31
3.2.

Some suggested activities in teaching English idioms referring
to human personality ........................................................................... 32

PART III: CONCLUSION ............................................................................ 39
1.

Recapitulation and Implications .......................................................... 39

2.

Suggestions for Further Studies .......................................................... 39

REFERENCES
APPENDIX I
APPENDIX II

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PART I: INTRODUCTION

1. Justification of the study
It is undoubted that English is now becoming an international language
and widely used all over the world. Almost all books can be written in
English. In Vietnam, especially in high schools, English is really essential and
it is also a compulsory subject to students. It can help students widen their
knowledge not only in studying all subjects but also in many other fields of
life. In order to learn English for intercommunication when the world is
becoming integrated, ones have to learn much more dimensions than just
focusing on grammar. Of these important dimensions, idioms are very
necessary one for learners to perceive and comprehend. It is because idioms
reflect accumulated human experiences and are built on frequently occurring
situations that demonstrate human behavior, social traits, certain habits or
tradition in a country.
Meaning of idioms generally can not be determined by the knowledge
of their components then idioms can be very confusing. In some cases, idioms
may sound naturally and suitably when a native speaker uses them; however,
a non native speaker of English may know their basic meanings but still can
not use them appropriately. That is why, to know and use idioms like a native
speaker, the learners have to understand the meanings and the ways they used
in certain situations.
Due to their special characteristics, idioms are short at length, thus

figures used in idioms are various and essential. Of the preferred ones,
metaphors play a very important role in creating images for idioms and
maintaining their survival. These can create the vivid images on the listeners’
minds whenever they communicate with speakers who use idioms as a sharp
communicative means.

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Personally, the author is always interested in human beings and
everything that is considered as human chronic nature, especially personality.
The way a man reacts to certain situations will tell something about that
person, the way a man behaves in communication will secrete something in
his personality. To some certain extents, each individual is unique but in some
other extents man has something similar to others when comparing
themselves with other individuals.
For the above reasons, the author decides to profoundly work on the
topic: “A study on English and Vietnamese idioms referring to human
personality” with an ambition to give the readers a new look on idioms in the
angle of human personality. In this thesis, the author does not wish to cover
all metaphors that referring to human personality but the idioms that use
animals, plants and some human body parts as the compared figures in
implying personality.
2. Aims of the study
The thesis has been carried out with the aims to:
- Emphasize the importance role of figures in English and Vietnamese
idioms, especially the figures in metaphorical idioms referring to human
personality.
- Figure out the figures of idioms referring to human personality
- Give some suggested activities for teaching and learning English idioms

referring to human personality.
3. Methods of the study
This thesis has been carried out by combining some methods:
- Materials and information collecting
- Analytic and synthetic method
- Descriptive method

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4. Scopes of the study
The author has no ambition to cover all kinds of personality that human
beings may have or all metaphorical idioms that refer to personality. The
thesis only focuses on:
Personality mentioned in metaphorical idioms related to animals and
plants and the ones referring to “heart” and “head”.
Idioms available in some books such as: “Oxford idioms: Dictionary
for learners of English (2006), Oxford university Press, “Vietnamese idioms”
Nguyễn Lực & Lương Văn Đang (1978) and some other books.
5. Format of the study
The thesis includes three main parts. PART I: INTRODUCTION. This
part introduces the justification, aims, methods, scopes and format of the
study. PART II: INVESTIGATION. In this part, chapter 1 provides the
theoretical background which is considered the ground for the thesis; chapter
2 gives idioms referring to human personality in the angel of metaphor related
to animals, plants, heart and head. And chapter 3 gives some suggested
activities for teaching and learning English idioms referring to human
personality. PART III: CONCLUSION summarizes what has been discussed
so far and also provides practical applications and some suggestions for
further study.

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PART II: INVESTIGATION
Chapter 1
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1. Definitions of idioms
All languages in the world have phrases and sentences that can not be
understood literally. Even if we know every word and comprehend the
grammar completely, the meaning may be confusing. The phrases of this type
are said to be idiomatic or in other words, they are idioms which have always
aroused the curiosity of linguists, and there is a long tradition in the study of,
especially within the fields of lexicology and lexicography.
According to Dictionary of English idioms (1976): “An idiom is a fixed
group with a special different meaning from the meanings of several words”.
For example, “He is shot by that gang because he lets the cat out of the bag”.
In the sentence, the idiom “let the cat out of the bag” means to reveal a secret
carelessly or by mistake.
In Vietnamese Dictionary (Linguistics Institu-Da Nang publishing
House, 1977): “Thành ngữ là tập hợp những từ cố định mà nghĩa của nó
thường khơng thể giải thích được một cách đơn giản bằng nghĩa của các từ
tạo nên nó” (Idiom is a stable word group, of which the meaning can not
usually explained simply by its individual word meaning.). For example, “rối
như tơ vò”, this idiom used to describe a person’s state of feelings, they are
very confused.
Seidle and Mordie in their English idioms also define: “Idioms as a
number of words taken together mean something different from the individual
words of the idioms when they stand alone”
A Vietnamese linguist, Hoàng Văn Hành (1994) defines an idiom is “a

stable word group with solid information and structure, and a complete and
figurative meaning used in everyday communication, especially in spoken

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language”. For example, the idiom “nóng như lửa” used to describe a person
who is very hot-tempered.
And in the dictionary, idiom is defined as “a group of words established
by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual
words”. For example, “rain cats and dogs”, “see the light”
Idioms can be considered as a means to express people’s thoughts and
feelings. They are short at length but concise and valuable in meaning. They
develop with the nation’s progress and they are also the quintessence of that
nation. That is why, idioms become the object in research of many authors.
Mai Ngọc Chừ in his book “Cơ sở ngôn ngữ học và tiếng Việt” defines
“Thành ngữ là cụm từ cố định hoàn chỉnh về cấu trúc và ý nghĩa. Nghĩa của
chúng có tính hình tượng và gợi cảm” (Idiom is a stable and finished phrase
in structure and meaning. Its meaning is figurative and impressive). Idioms
are words, phrases, or expressions that can not be taken literally. In other
words when they used in everyday language, they have a meaning other than
the basic one we would find in the dictionary.
Although idioms are seen under different views and defined variously
but all of them share the same view on the matter. Most linguists agree that
idioms are phrases where the whole phrase means something different from
the meanings of several words.
1.2. Features of idioms
1.2.1. Semantic feature
It is undoubted that meaning is the most important factor when talking
about semantic feature of idioms. V.V Vinogradow imaginatively expressed,

the meaning of an idiom is “the special chemical mixture” of the meaning of
all components. Most of the idioms are metaphorical than literal. Therefore,
their meanings can not be found in the dictionary. In order to understand the
meanings of idioms one has to consider them in the figurative view.

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According to A.V.Kunin the meaning of an idiom is either partly or
completely different from the meanings of all components. The partly
different ones, such as “like water off the duck’s back” (to say that something,
especially criticism has no effect on somebody), in English, “cắn nhau như
chó với mèo” (argue fiercely very often), the totally different ones such as
“let the cat out of the bag” (reveal a secret carelessly), “đi guốc trong bụng”
(to understand someone like to read their thoughts). All these idioms shows
the meanings figuratively.
Idioms are said to have positive meanings, negative meanings and
neutral meanings.
* Idioms with positive meaings:
“as busy as a bee” (very hardworking)
“the fruits of something” (the result of an activity)
“đẹp người, đẹp nết”, a person has good-looking appearance and
good nature”
* Idioms with negative meanings:
“as stupid as a pig”
“chở củi về rừng” (to carry coals to Newcastle, a useless activity)
* Idioms with neutral meanings:
“take a/the hint” (understand what somebody wants you to do, even
though they tell you in an indirect way)
“bộc lộ tâm can”. (to reveal one’s feelings from his/her heart)

Idioms also have their source from many fields of life. A large number
of idioms come from farming field such as “sowing seeds”, “harvesting
crops”, “hay making”. Many idioms are from transport, such as “put the cart
before the horse”, “ride a coach and horses through something”. Some
originated from fables and tales “sour grape”, “the goose that laid the golden
eggs”. Or from sports such as “have a good innings” (have a long and
successful life or career), etc. Many others come from various fields, such as
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science and technology, entertainment, sport, historical figures, games,
famous quotations etc.
1.2.2. Figurative feature
Most of English and Vietnamese idioms always understood figuratively.
Idioms usually contain images which result from metaphor in themselves.
These hidden images can be either easy or difficult for the readers to imagine.
It is the figurativeness of idioms that makes expressions more lively and
impressive.
E.g: “have eyes in the back of your head”
“đẹp như tiên sa” (as beautiful as a fairy)
In Oxford idioms: Dictionary for learners of English “An idiom usually
begins as a phrase with a literal meaning which then starts to be used in a
figurative or an idiomatic way”. For example, in the past, it was a sign of
respect “to take your hat off” when meeting them or entering their house.
From this literal meaning, the phrase came to be used more generally to mean
“show respect or express admiration for what someone has done”.
1.2.3. Structural feature
Idioms are word group with stable structure. We can not change their
word order apart from accepted variants. We can neither omit or add any
component to fixed structure of idioms, for example, the idiom “call a spade

a spade” not “call a hammer a hammer”.
Idioms can also be different at length from each other. In other word,
the number of words in each idiom can vary from one to many, e.g: “fishy”
(doubtful), “mèo khen mèo dài đuôi” (a person who is satisfied with himself
and praises himself).
Idioms have regular structures, irregular structures or even
grammatically incorrect structure. In other words, idioms are fairly free in
their grammatical structures.

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Regular structure idioms:
“A pipe dream” (a hope, belief, plan that will probably not come true)
“the green eyed monster” (a feeling of anger or unhappiness because
somebody you like or love showing his interest in somebody else)
Irregular structure idioms:
“I am good friends with him”
Grammatically incorrect idioms:
“Think big” (to have big plans and ideas and be keen to achieve)
“Be up to no good” (doing or planning something wrong or dishonest)
1.3. General view on metaphor
Metaphor, as a widespread feature of everyday thought and language, it
is a dominant feature of natural language. Traditional approaches (Halliday,
1985) consider metaphor as a mere figure of speech, and historical
semanticists regard metaphor as an important procedure of semantic change.
As we know, idioms are word groups using mainly figurative images to
convey the meanings. In this thesis we want to focus mainly on figures in
metaphorical idioms which are indispensable in creating vitality for idioms.
1.3.1. Metaphor

Metaphor describes a person, an object or a situation by comparing it to
something else with similar characteristics. Or in other words, metaphor
compares two things that are not alike in most ways are in one important way.
Unlike similes that use the words “as” or “like” to make a comparison,
metaphor states that something is something else. For example “love is
journey”. “gia đình là tế bào của xã hội”.
According to Oxford Advanced learner’s Dictionary “Metaphor is a
word or phrase used to describe somebody or something else in a way that is
different from its normal use, in order to show that the two things have the
same qualities and to make the description more powerful”

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A metaphor (from Greek “metapherin” is to carry over or transfer) is a
word used to imply a resemblance but instead of likening one object to
another as in the simile we directly substitute the action or operation by one
for another.
In Aristotle’s Poetics and Rhetoric (350 B.C), he assumed that metaphor
was derived from seeing semblances in things, which is one feature of simile.
According to Max Black: “Metaphor consists in giving the thing a
name that belongs to something else; the transference being either from
genius to species, or from species to genius, or from species to species, or on
ground of analogy” (cited in Aristle’s Poetics and Rhetoric, 1953:174)
Metaphor can base on:
Similarity of shape:
“mouth of a cave”
“the head of a cabbage”
(Hoàng Tất Trường, 1993:80)
Similarity of size:

“Their daughter is quite plump but their son is positively elephantine”
(English - Vietnamese dictionary,1993:559)
Similarity of position:
“The foot of a mountain”
(Hoàng Tất Trường, 1993:79)
Similarity of movement:
“The river snaked away into the distance”
(English - Vietnamese dictionary, 1993:1690)
Similarity of function:
The key of the piano
Similarity of color:
An orange light
(English - Vietnamese dictionary, 1993:1216)
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Similarity of behavior and character:
He is a pig
Similarity of sound:
He roared with his children
(English - Vietnamese dictionary, 2002:1533)
1.3.2. The distinctions between metaphor and simile
Syntactically speaking, the distinction can easily be marked by saying
that metaphor expresses A is B whereas the simile has the mode of A is like B.
Nevertheless, there are also metaphors which can not be expressed as simile
and vice versa (Israel at al. 2004:128). Look at the following examples:
His mind was somehow clouded. (*)
The flute sounded like a boiling water kettle the first time she tried to
play it. (**)
The metaphor in example (*) can not be expressed in simile form till

convey the same meaning (His mind was like clouds). Whereas the simile in
(**) can not be expressed in the A is B form without losing either its
grammaticality or its meaning (The flute is boiling water kettle).
The feature that is deemed the most important difference between
simile and metaphor is that “similes tend to highlight a single salient property
in two domains” whereas “a single conceptual metaphor may feature
numerous cross-domain correspondences” (Israel et al. 2004:132)
By knowing this, we can now distinguish the two statements
She is like a fox (1)
She is a fox (2)
The simile form in (1) would most likely used in case where she
resembles a fox in one feature, for instance in slyness. Therefore, example (1)
would likely used when her slyness is obvious. On the other hand, if she is out

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with friends and looks hairy and sly, (2) is more suitable because she would
resemble a fox in more than one way.
1.3.3. The distinction between metaphor and metonymy
Metaphor and metonymy are two concepts that are often confusing.
Firstly, what differentiates metaphor from metonymy is the nature
relationship between the two elements entering into the substitutions. While a
metaphorical term is connected with what for which, it is substituted on the
basis of “similarity”, metonymy is based on “contiguity” or “closeness”.
Metonymy tends to suggest that they are directly connected with reality in
contrast to the iconicity or symbolism of metaphor (Jakobson and
Halle,1956:92).
Metaphor and metonymy is also regarded to be different in function.
The function of metaphor “understands” while the function of a metonymy is

“reference”. According to Lakoff and Johnson (1980:36), thus, conceive of
metaphor as having primarily a function of understanding, which is a way of
conceiving of one thing in terms of another; and metonymy as having
primarily a referential function which allows us to use one entity to stand for
another.
1.4. Concept of personality
When we meet a person, the first things that strikes us are his
features ;that is, his height, voice, smile etc. We often confuse the external
appearance of a person with his personality. But in psychology, personality is
deeper than external appearance and look.
What does it mean if someone says that their friend has a optimistic
personality? Their statement suggests that the person has a fairly consistent
tendency to behave in cheerful, hopeful and enthusiastic way, looking at the
bright side of things, across a wide variety of situations.

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Wherever we find people, thinking, talking and writing about other
people, there we will find discourse about personality- about, as the Oxford
English dictionary has it “that quality or assemblage of qualities which makes
a person what he is, as distinct from other person”. We call kindhearted,
generous, fair-minded, witty, flaky, charming, mean-spirited, bitchy, dull,
stupid, thoughtless, self-deprecating, bullies, control freaks. Aspects of
personality such as these or what is called traits are constantly being appealed
to in our everyday descriptions of ourselves and of others.
Or when we ask a friend to describe a mutual friend who is absent, or
someone she knows from the place where she works, but with whom we are
not acquainted. Listen to what she says, and we are almost bound to hear talk
of traits. We can also read papers which are full of talk personality traits:

politicians are described as being charismatic, charming and professional, or
dogged and shallow. Footballers are hardworking or mercurial. In the law
courts, judges and magistrates don’t hesitate to talk about the criminal’s
personality as they pass sentence: this evil man revealed that he was cunning.
Originally, the word “personality” has its origin in Latin word
“persona” which means a mask. In Greco-Roman theater, the actors wore
masks and the color and the type of masks depicted the quality and
personality of the character they played.
According to H. Laurent in “Personality: How to build it” (2008: 11):
“The word “personality” describes which is personal, that which belongs one
to human being only. To have personality means to possess one or several
qualities, one or several defects or even a turn of mind, an original character
not like that of others but truly one’s own and free from imitation”. He
assumed that there are two kinds of personalities. First, those that force
themselves forward and stand out among the crowd, distinct from the rest of
community by their qualities or their defects. They are good or bad
personalities. Secondly, those that have standing by favor of an endowment
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that makes them independent, such as name, rank, fortune,etc. Personality is
the particular combination of emotional, attitudinal and behavioral response
pattern of an individual.
1.5. Dimensions of personality
Personality researchers have proposed that there are five basic
dimensions of personality. Evidence of this theory has been growing over the
past 50 years, beginning with the research of D.W.Fiske (1949) and later
expanded upon by other researchers including Norman (1967), Smith (1967),
Goldberg (1981), and Mc Crae & Costa (1987).
These five categories are usually described as follows:

1. Extraversion: This trait includes characteristics such as excitability,
sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness and high amounts of emotional
expressiveness.
2. Agreeableness: This personality dimension includes attributes such
as trust, altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors.
3. Conscientiousness: Common features of this dimension include
high levels of thoughtfulness, with good impulse control and goal-directed
behaviors. Those high in conscientiousness tend to be organized and mindful
of details.
4. Neuroticism: Individuals high in this trait tend to experience
emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness, irritability, and sadness.
5. Openness: This trait features characteristics such as imagination and
insight, and those high in this trait also tend to have a broad range of interests.

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Chapter 2
ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE IDIOMS REFERRING
TO HUMAN PERSONALITY

2.1. Personality in metaphorical idioms
Human being lives in accordance with surroundings, especially with
animals and plants. These provide people with not only the profuse sources of
food but also a good environment. They have a great impact on people in both
thought and spiritual life. Therefore, human personality reflected clearly and
cleverly in language which refers to animals and plants of many kinds. In
addition, it is said that the “head” is the world of thoughts, the process of
forming thoughts and the “heart” is the world of sensation, emotion,
sentiment. Thus, human behaviors, reactions, feelings to certain situation can

help to see and to know about their personality.
Furthermore, personality metaphor idioms are prevalent in English and
Vietnamese language. During our study on idioms, we found that
metaphorical images are very diverse and appear in idioms with very high
frequency. For example, instead of saying that “A dictator is unlikely to
become a good leader in a democracy. His character does not change. We say
“A dictator is unlikely to become a good leader in a democracy. A leopard
can not change its spots”. Or in Vietnamese, instead of saying that someone
who has bad personality, always takes the chance to get benefits regardless of
another person’s difficult situation, people tend to use idiom “dậu đổ bìm leo”.
So, the image of animal and plant can help to see a person’s personality
figuratively and impressively. Then the images created from using
metaphorical idioms make it easier and more interesting to perceive what is
being conveyed and compared.
For those reasons, metaphorical idioms referring to animals, plants,
“head” and “heart” become the main domains of study in this thesis.
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2.1.1. Personality in metaphorical idioms related to animals.
Metaphorical idioms originated from metaphor. According to Đinh
Trọng Lạc “Phép ẩn dụ là sự định danh thứ hai mang ý nghĩa hình tượng dựa
trên sự tương đồng hay giống nhau giữa khách thể A được định danh và
khách thể B có

tên gọi chuyển sang cho A”. (Metaphor is the second

definition which bases the figurative meaning on “similarity” or “sameness”
between object A and object B having the name transferred to object A). In
language system, metaphor is a means to create meanings of metaphorical

idioms and preferably used.
Historically, man soon domesticated some kinds of animals; they
connect closely with human’s lives and thoughts. Therefore, metaphorical
idioms which use animals to describe personality are copious and various in
both English and Vietnamese language.
Personality of cunning and bluff:
Some kinds of animals are thought to be cunning and bluff such as wolf,
fox, tiger, etc. This conception seems to originate for very long since man
knows and understands their nature or observes their characteristics in their
reactions to surrounding. Then ones attribute these characteristics to man who
has the same nature.
For example, wolf is a symbol of slyness and bluff both in Western
and Eastern culture. In idioms, wolf has a dark and negative impression. It
denotes a clever and evasive person, infer self-interest. They pretend to be
utterly innocent and harmless but their hearts are full of cunning.
"I want you to stay away from that boy. He's a wolf in sheep's clothing."
A person described to be “a wolf in sheep's clothing" is a person who
plans to do something bad ("a wolf") while pretending to be good and
innocent ("in sheep's clothing”).
In Vietnamese idioms, in order to say a person is very wicked and
cruel, people usually use “lòng lang dạ sói”
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Similarly, a fox is said to stop breathing and pretend to be dead when it
is caught. So if people are not careful, it will bite them and run away. Fox can
also imitate other animals to catch them. In idioms, to refer to slyness, fox is
also mentioned:
“Tay ấy nghe nói dạo này lão luyện trong việc làm ăn lắm, đúng là mèo
già hố cáo rồi”

( />“mèo già hóa cáo/ mèo sống lâu hóa cáo ”: implying a person becoming
more and more cunning when they get older.
If someone disguises to be another person and depends their power
on others’ or makes boast of something which does not belong to them to
deceive others, they are called “cáo đội lốt cọp/ cáo mượn oai hùm”. If
they are bluff and deceive people, they are said “mượn đầu heo nấu cháo/
treo dê bán chó”.
In Vietnamese and English idioms, cunning or bluff

people are

figuratively compared with animals which have very bad impression on
people’s mind.
For example some kinds of birds: owl, crow
“cú đội lốt công/ quạ đội lốt công”: refers to someone who is pretends to be
good, attractive outside but bad natured, indeed.
Hence, personality of cunning and bluff is attach to animals that have no good
impression or a certain bias on people.
Personality of deceit and hypocrisy
There are animals which considered to be deceitful and hypocritical in
people’s mind. In both Vietnamese and English idioms, crocodile is a symbol
of deceit and hypocrisy. This animal denotes underlying negative aspects or
forces. When someone is described to be a crocodile or to have/ cry crocodile
tears. That is a two-faced or hypocritical person:

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“They never visited her when she was ill, but they came to her funeral
and she cried a few crocodile tears”.

(Oxford idioms: Dictionary for learners of English, 2006: 76)
“Thời nào cũng vậy nước mắt cá sấu vẫn lừa bịp được những người nhẹ
dạ cả tin”.
(Đi tìm điển tích thành ngữ, Tiêu Hà Minh)
To denote a person who pretends to be your friend but who can not be
trusted because they always do dubious things behind your back, we use
idiom “A snake in the grass”:
“We used to be friends, but who knew he’d turn out to be such a snake
in the grass”
(Oxford idioms Dictionary for learners of English, 2006: 366)
Connotatively, “snake” is a cold blood reptile, it is an evil animal in
people’s minds, it also denotes people who are dishonest and cruel. To
illuminate those who are devoid of gratitude or fail to thank for one’s good
attention or receive good treatment from others then return with wrongdoings,
idiom “to warm a snake in one’s bosom” used.
In Vietnamese language, “snake” has the same connotation:
“Thấy những kẻ nói năng êm dịu mà lịng độc dữ, họ bảo rằng: Thật là
khẩu Phật tâm xà.”
“khẩu phật tâm xà” to imply that someone says the fine words in front
of everyone but has the cruel doings or wicked thoughts or intentions then.
When one wants to refer to people who do something wrong, then
impute the blame to someone else, we say “rắn đổ nọc cho lươn”. A person
who lives with wicked intention and for their own interest usually described
in this way.
“Khuyết điểm mình làm ra thì phải nhận, khơng nên rắn đổ nọc cho
lươn, dây dưa đổ vấy cho bạn”
(Nguyễn Lực - Lương Văn Đang:278)
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Sometimes, some kinds of animals seem not to have a connotation of
deceit or hypocrisy but appear in idiom with these qualities:
“hổ đội lốt thầy tu/ ” refers to a person who is gentle, harmless outside
but deceitful, hypocritical and cruel inside.
“mèo già khóc chuột”: referring to a person who is deceitful, pretends
to feel pity for his rival.
“dạ cá lòng chim/ lòng cá dạ chim”: refers to a person who is deceitful
Someone may deceive others by the attractive appearance in the bad
nature or bad personality, Vietnamese uses idiom “dẻ cùi tốt mã/ cá vàng
bụng bọ”.
People with deceit and hypocrisy personality seem to be described in
idioms which animals appear in good-looking appearance or good pretended
behavior but in a bad nature.
Personality of selfishness, obstinateness and conservativeness
In English and Vietnamese cultures, dog has some characteristics
which appreciated. The first primary symbol is one of loyalty, vigilance and
intelligence. However, when referring to dogs to imply man’s personality in
idioms, the negative attitudes towards dogs outnumber. Of qualities implied,
selfishness and stubbornness mentioned:
“Young children seem to be dogs in the manger. They refuse to let
other children play with their toys even though they are not playing with them
themselves”
This idiom used to denote someone who prevents others from
enjoying something despite having no use for it. In Vietnamese idiom, “chó
già giữ xương” is its equivalent.
“Về sau chúng chết, khơng chừa, chó đen giữ mực, anh ấy kiên trì
lắm nhưng ngày càng tệ, phải bỏ đấy”.
(Phù Thăng, Trận địa mới)

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