Photo taken and used with permission from Kandle Dart

Meow! This post is dedicated to the word “cat”. It’s all about “cat” in the Vietnamese culture, language, belief, and its metaphoric use. Whether you are a cat lover or not, you may find that cats play a significant role in our human history, dating back thousands of years. In Vietnamese culture, the cat is one of the twelve animals of the zodiac.

CAT WORDS

• Con mèo  (the cat)
  

  Photo taken and used with permission from Kandle Dart

• Meo! (Meow!)
• Mắt mèo (cat eyes)
• Cứt mèo (cat feces)
• Mèo đen/ Mèo mun (black cat)
• Mèo hoang (stray cat)

IDIOMS AND OTHER EXPRESSIONS WITH THE WORD “MÈO” (CAT)

1. Con mèo (girlfriend/mistress): Obviously, when you hear the word con mèo, it means cat. However, when people gossip using the word “con mèo”, it may not mean the animal, but someone’s girlfriend or mistress. For example, if someone says “ông ta có mèo” (he has a cat), to clarify, you may ask: “Is it the two-legged, or four-legged one?”. If the answer is “the four-leg cat”, then it’s the pet. If it’s “the two-leg cat”, then it’s the girlfriend or the mistress.
2. Tinh như mắt mèo: This expression means as sharp (good vision) as cat’s eyes. For example, “Her eyes tinh như mắt mèo. She could spot the lost needle on the floor in a second.”
3. Dấu như mèo dấu cứt: transliterated is “hide it like the cat hides its feces”. It means hiding the information/secret unnecessarily. For example, “She hides the fact that she is pregnant like mèo dấu cứt.”
4. Ăn như mèo: transliterated is “eat like the cat”. It means only eating a little portion. For example, “How could you gain weight if you ăn như mèo. You need to eat more.”
5. Chữ viết như mèo quào: Transliterated is “the handwriting is like a cat scratch”. It means bad handwriting. For example, “Son, your chữ viết như mèo quào like that, nobody can read it.”
6. Như mèo thấy mỡ: Transliterated is “like a cat seeing fat”. It means someone who is too eager for what they want (in a negative way). For example, “He loves money. Every opportunity to seize some money, his eyes light up like như mèo thấy mỡ.”
7. Mèo khen mèo dài đuôi: transliterated is “the cat compliments its long tail”. It means to brag and boast. For example, “she kept boasting about her pretty dress that she wore last night, mèo khen mèo dài đuôi. It was all about herself.”

POPULAR FOLK POEM ABOUT MÈO

This is a very popular one:

Con mèo mà trèo cây cau (the cat that climbs up the palm tree)
Hỏi thăm chú chuột đi đâu vắng nhà (asking where did the mouse go)
Chú chuột đi chợ đằng xa (said the mouse went away to the market)
Mua mắm mua muối giỗ cha con mèo (to buy fish sauce and salt offering to the late cat’s father)

SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT MÈO

1. The Vietnamese believe that if the mèo enters your house, it’s bad luck, while a dog entering brings good luck.
2. If mèo đen (black cat) jumps over a corpse at rest in the home, the Devil will possess the soul of the deceased.
3. Mèo đen is evil with bad omens.
4. Mèo đen is associated with witches and dark magic.

Poor mèo đen has had a bad reputation for centuries and even until today. Sadly, they often get mistreated especially during Halloween. They should deserve better.

Last year, a stray mèo đen came to me in the yard. A poor, little ragamuffin, I took him in as a house cat. “The beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” He is the most beautiful cat in the whole world to me. His black fur is silky and smooth to touch, like black velvet. This loving, sweet baby brought so much luck, love, and happiness into our household. I can testify that black cat only brings you luck and joy, no bad omens!

Photo taken and used with permission from Kandle Dart