ăn có mời, làm có khiến
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Eat when invited, work when bidden — propriety waits for the summons.
Literally: eating has invitation, working has direction
Examples
Ăn có mời, làm có khiến.Eat on invitation, work on instruction.
Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)
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 có mời, làm có khiến” mean?
Eat when invited, work when bidden — propriety waits for the summons. Literally: eating has invitation, working has direction
Is “ăn có mời, làm có khiến” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.