Lines by Nguyễn Du
Nguyễn Du
阮攸
Vietnamese poet · 1766–1820
Nguyễn Du was a scholar and official who wrote in chữ Nôm, the Vietnamese script of his time. His verse novel, The Tale of Kiều, is the best-known poem in Vietnamese.
A hundred years in this world of ours: how talent and fate love to quarrel.
Trăm năm trong cõi người ta, / Chữ tài chữ mệnh khéo là ghét nhau.
The Tale of Kiều, lines 1–2
Planet-X translation, 2026 · Source (opens the digitised edition in a new tab)