Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

bắt cóc, bỏ vào dĩa

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

Also seen as: bắt cóc bỏ đĩa

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Catching frogs into a saucer — no sooner in than out; custody that cannot hold.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

giam giữ không hiệu quả

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: catch the frog, set it on a plate

Examples

Giữ nó ở bàn học như bắt cóc bỏ dĩa.Keeping him at his desk is frogs on a saucer.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

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 cóc, bỏ vào dĩa” mean?

Catching frogs into a saucer — no sooner in than out; custody that cannot hold. Literally: catch the frog, set it on a plate

Is “bắt cóc, bỏ vào dĩa” formal or informal?

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

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