Bỉ sắc tư phong
Definition
Idiom:
- "The inferior in one aspect is superior in another" / "To be lacking in one quality but compensated by another": This classical idiom describes a situation where a person or thing is deficient or unlucky in one area of life but is correspondingly fortunate or gifted in a different, often contrasting, area. It expresses the philosophical idea that fortune and misfortune, or strengths and weaknesses, are balanced by fate.
Idiom (Philosophical Concept):
- "Where there is a loss, there is a gain" / "Compensatory balance": It conveys the concept of cosmic or natural compensation, suggesting that extremes in one direction are offset by extremes in another, preventing any single entity from having a monopoly on perfection or misfortune.
Usage Examples
- Idiom:
- Lạ gì bỉ sắc tư phong / Trời cao quen thói má hồng đánh ghen. (What's strange about being unlucky in love but lucky in life? / The high heavens are accustomed to being jealous of rosy cheeks.)
- Cô ấy không giàu có nhưng có sức khỏe tuyệt vời, đúng là bỉ sắc tư phong. (She is not wealthy but has excellent health, truly where she lacks in one thing, she gains in another.)
Advanced Usage
- This idiom is deeply rooted in East Asian philosophical thought, often used to console someone or to rationalize an unfair situation by pointing to a hidden or existing compensatory advantage. It is frequently employed in literary and reflective contexts.
Variants and Related Words
- Được cái này, hỏng cái kia: A more colloquial Vietnamese phrase with a similar meaning: "To gain this, to lose that."
Synonyms
- Every cloud has a silver lining: (English idiom) Suggests a hopeful side to a misfortune.
- Trade-off: A compromise involving the exchange of one thing for another.
- Compensation: Something that counterbalances or makes up for a disadvantage.
Related Idioms and Concepts
- Họa phúc vô môn: (Vietnamese idiom of Sino-Vietnamese origin) "Fortune and misfortune have no gate," meaning they are unpredictable and intertwined.
- Trong cái rủi có cái may: (Pure Vietnamese idiom) "Within misfortune there is luck," closely related to the concept of .