ao có bờ, sông có bến
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Ponds have banks, rivers have landings — everything orderly keeps its bounds.
Literally: pond has banks, river has wharves
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 “ao có bờ, sông có bến” mean?
Ponds have banks, rivers have landings — everything orderly keeps its bounds. Literally: pond has banks, river has wharves
Is “ao có bờ, sông có bến” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.