Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

cắt dây bầu dây bí, chẳng ai cắt dây chị em

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

Meaning · English

Cut the gourd vine, cut the squash vine — no one cuts the vine between sisters — kinship is the one uncuttable creeper.

Literally: cut gourd and squash vines; none cuts the sister vine

Examples

Cắt dây bầu dây bí, ai nỡ cắt dây chị em.Vines may be cut — never the one between sisters.

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 “cắt dây bầu dây bí, chẳng ai cắt dây chị em” mean?

Cut the gourd vine, cut the squash vine — no one cuts the vine between sisters — kinship is the one uncuttable creeper. Literally: cut gourd and squash vines; none cuts the sister vine

Is “cắt dây bầu dây bí, chẳng ai cắt dây chị em” formal or informal?

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