bưng miệng vò miệng lọ, ai bưng được miệng thiên-hạ

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

Meaning · English

You can cover a jar's mouth or a crock's — nobody covers the world's — the one vessel without a lid.

Literally: cap the jug and the jar: who caps humanity's mouth

Examples

Bưng được miệng vò, ai bưng được miệng thiên hạ.Jars have lids; the public's mouth has none.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

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 “bưng miệng vò miệng lọ, ai bưng được miệng thiên-hạ” mean?

You can cover a jar's mouth or a crock's — nobody covers the world's — the one vessel without a lid. Literally: cap the jug and the jar: who caps humanity's mouth

Is “bưng miệng vò miệng lọ, ai bưng được miệng thiên-hạ” formal or informal?

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