chẳng ăn, chẳng chơi, nửa đời cũng ra ma
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Neither feasting nor playing, half a life and you're a ghost regardless — thrift's memento mori: the grave takes savers too.
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 “chẳng ăn, chẳng chơi, nửa đời cũng ra ma” mean?
Neither feasting nor playing, half a life and you're a ghost regardless — thrift's memento mori: the grave takes savers too. Literally: no eating, no playing: half a life, still a ghost
Is “chẳng ăn, chẳng chơi, nửa đời cũng ra ma” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.