Tiếng Việt · Idiom Attested

bắt chạch trong chum

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

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Catching the loach in the water-jar — the sure thing, staged in a container.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

điều chắc chắn, được dàn xếp trong một không gian kín

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: catch the loach inside the jar

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 “bắt chạch trong chum” mean?

Catching the loach in the water-jar — the sure thing, staged in a container. Literally: catch the loach inside the jar

Is “bắt chạch trong chum” formal or informal?

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

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