Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

cá không ăn muối cá ươn, con không nghe mẹ trăm đường con hư

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

Also seen as: cá không ăn muối cá thối, người không ăn nhời người hư

Meaning · English

Fish that refuses salt spoils; a child that refuses its mother spoils a hundred ways — guidance rejected is ruin chosen.

Literally: unsalted fish turns; unmothered child turns a hundred ways

Examples

Cãi lời mẹ hoài, cá không ăn muối cá ươn đó con.Keep defying your mother — the fish that won't take salt goes off.

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 “cá không ăn muối cá ươn, con không nghe mẹ trăm đường con hư” mean?

Fish that refuses salt spoils; a child that refuses its mother spoils a hundred ways — guidance rejected is ruin chosen. Literally: unsalted fish turns; unmothered child turns a hundred ways

Is “cá không ăn muối cá ươn, con không nghe mẹ trăm đường con hư” formal or informal?

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