cá tươi thì xem lấy mang, người khôn xem lấy hai hàng tóc mai

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

Meaning · English

Fresh fish shows in the gills, a person's quality in the temples — inspection points for markets and matchmakers.

Literally: fresh fish: check the gills; wise person: check the sideburns
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 tươi thì xem lấy mang, người khôn xem lấy hai hàng tóc mai” mean?

Fresh fish shows in the gills, a person's quality in the temples — inspection points for markets and matchmakers. Literally: fresh fish: check the gills; wise person: check the sideburns

Is “cá tươi thì xem lấy mang, người khôn xem lấy hai hàng tóc mai” formal or informal?

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