Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

cá sẩy cá lớn

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

Meaning · English

The escaped fish is always the big one — what got away grows in the telling.

Literally: the slipped fish is a large fish

Examples

Kể lại vụ trượt cổ phiếu, cá sẩy cá lớn mà.Retelling the stock he missed — the escaped fish is always huge.

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 sẩy cá lớn” mean?

The escaped fish is always the big one — what got away grows in the telling. Literally: the slipped fish is a large fish

Is “cá sẩy cá lớn” formal or informal?

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

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