cháy nhà ra mặt chuột
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
When the house burns, the rats show their faces — crisis flushes out who and what was hidden.
Literally: burning house reveals the rats' faces
Examples
Vỡ nợ một cái, cháy nhà ra mặt chuột.One bankruptcy and the rats all showed their faces.
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 “cháy nhà ra mặt chuột” mean?
When the house burns, the rats show their faces — crisis flushes out who and what was hidden. Literally: burning house reveals the rats' faces
Is “cháy nhà ra mặt chuột” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.