tam sao thất bản
Definition
- Idiom:
- A copy of a copy becomes distorted: Describes how information, especially written text, becomes increasingly inaccurate or corrupted through repeated copying or retelling. The core meaning is that errors compound with each transmission, so the final version bears little resemblance to the original.
- The degradation of information through repetition: Emphasizes the process where the essence or factual content is lost after being passed through multiple intermediaries.
Usage Examples
- Idiom:
- Câu chuyện đó qua nhiều người kể lại đã thành tam sao thất bản. (That story, after being retold by many people, has become a distorted copy.)
- Bản thảo này được chép tay nhiều lần, e rằng đã tam sao thất bản. (This manuscript has been hand-copied many times; I fear it is now a corrupted version.)
- Đừng tin vào tin đồn, vì chúng thường là tam sao thất bản. (Don't believe rumors, as they are often a game of telephone.)
Advanced Usage
- The idiom is often used to criticize the unreliability of second-hand information, gossip, or documents without a clear, original source. It warns against taking such information at face value.
- It can be applied to modern contexts like the distortion of news on social media after being shared multiple times.
Variants and Related Words
- Truyền miệng (v): to pass on by word of mouth. This is a common method by which information becomes "tam sao thất bản."
- Bản gốc (n): the original version (the antithesis of a "tam sao thất bản" copy).
Synonyms
- A game of telephone: (English idiom) Describes how a message changes through a chain of people.
- Corrupted copy: A version that has been altered and contains errors.
- Degraded information: Data that has lost its original quality or accuracy.
Related Idioms
- Ông nói gà, bà nói vịt: (Vietnamese: "The man says chicken, the woman says duck") Meaning people are talking about the same thing but completely misunderstanding each other, often a result of "tam sao thất bản."
- Trăm nghe không bằng một thấy: (Vietnamese: "Hearing a hundred times isn't equal to seeing once") Emphasizes the superiority of first-hand experience over potentially distorted hearsay.