chó cậy nhà, gà cậy vườn

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

Meaning · English

The dog trusts its house, the hen her garden — everyone is bravest on home ground.

Literally: dog leans on the house, chicken on the garden

Examples

Ở sân nhà nó hung lắm, chó cậy nhà gà cậy vườn.Fierce in his own yard — the dog trusts its house, the hen her garden.

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 “chó cậy nhà, gà cậy vườn” mean?

The dog trusts its house, the hen her garden — everyone is bravest on home ground. Literally: dog leans on the house, chicken on the garden

Is “chó cậy nhà, gà cậy vườn” formal or informal?

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