Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

chết kèn trống, sống dầu đèn

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

Meaning · English

Dead: horns and drums; living: lamp-oil — each state of a person has its own running costs.

Literally: dead: trumpet and drum; alive: oil and lamp

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 “chết kèn trống, sống dầu đèn” mean?

Dead: horns and drums; living: lamp-oil — each state of a person has its own running costs. Literally: dead: trumpet and drum; alive: oil and lamp

Is “chết kèn trống, sống dầu đèn” formal or informal?

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

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