có rau ăn rau, có cháo ăn cháo

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

Meaning · English

Greens if there are greens, gruel if there's gruel — contentment eating whatever the day put out.

Literally: having greens eat greens, having porridge eat porridge

Examples

Có rau ăn rau, có cháo ăn cháo.Greens when there are greens, gruel when there's gruel.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

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 “có rau ăn rau, có cháo ăn cháo” mean?

Greens if there are greens, gruel if there's gruel — contentment eating whatever the day put out. Literally: having greens eat greens, having porridge eat porridge

Is “có rau ăn rau, có cháo ăn cháo” formal or informal?

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