Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Chờ nước đến chân mới nhảy

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

To act only when the situation becomes urgent

Literally: Wait for water to reach feet then jump

Examples

Anh ấy chỉ quyết định tìm việc khi bố mẹ cắt tiền chu cấp, chờ nước đến chân mới nhảy.He only decided to find a job when his parents cut off his allowance, waiting until the situation became urgent.

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Headword listed in the vdict.com proverb dictionary index (discovery source; headword only — no source content copied). Entered as candidate 2026-08-05; definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-05; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “Chờ nước đến chân mới nhảy” mean?

To act only when the situation becomes urgent Literally: Wait for water to reach feet then jump

Is “Chờ nước đến chân mới nhảy” formal or informal?

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

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