Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

bắt chuột không hay, hay ỉa bếp

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

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

No good at mousing, expert at fouling the kitchen — useless where needed, busy where not.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

vô dụng khi cần, nhưng gây rối khi không cần

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: can't catch mice, defecates on the hearth well

Sources & notes

Discovered via Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “bắt chuột không hay, hay ỉa bếp” mean?

No good at mousing, expert at fouling the kitchen — useless where needed, busy where not. Literally: can't catch mice, defecates on the hearth well

Is “bắt chuột không hay, hay ỉa bếp” formal or informal?

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

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