Tiếng Việt · Idiom Attested

ăn chẳng nên đọi, nói chẳng nên nhời

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In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

Eating short of a bowl, speaking short of a sentence — competence arriving nowhere whole.

Literally: eat not up to a bowl, speak not up to a phrase

Sources & notes

Discovered via Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “ăn chẳng nên đọi, nói chẳng nên nhời” mean?

Eating short of a bowl, speaking short of a sentence — competence arriving nowhere whole. Literally: eat not up to a bowl, speak not up to a phrase

Is “ăn chẳng nên đọi, nói chẳng nên nhời” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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