Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Bé ăn trộm gà, già ăn trộm bò

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

People's behavior and tendencies often remain consistent throughout their lives

Literally: Children steal chickens, adults steal cows

Examples

Anh ấy từ nhỏ đã hay đánh nhau, giờ lớn lên thì thành kẻ côn đồ, thật là bé ăn trộm gà, già ăn trộm bòHe used to fight a lot when he was young, now that he's grown up, he's become a thug, it's really a case of bé ăn trộm gà, già ăn trộm bò

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Headword listed in the vdict.com proverb dictionary index (discovery source; headword only — no source content copied). Entered as candidate 2026-08-05; definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-05; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “Bé ăn trộm gà, già ăn trộm bò” mean?

People's behavior and tendencies often remain consistent throughout their lives Literally: Children steal chickens, adults steal cows

Is “Bé ăn trộm gà, già ăn trộm bò” formal or informal?

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

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