cơm cha, áo mẹ, chữ thầy
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Father's rice, mother's clothes, teacher's letters — the three debts every childhood runs up.
Literally: father's rice, mother's garment, teacher's writing
Examples
Nên người là nhờ cơm cha áo mẹ chữ thầy.We are made of father's rice, mother's clothes and teacher's letters.
Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)
Sources & notes
Discovered via Vietnamese Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.
Common questions
What does “cơm cha, áo mẹ, chữ thầy” mean?
Father's rice, mother's clothes, teacher's letters — the three debts every childhood runs up. Literally: father's rice, mother's garment, teacher's writing
Is “cơm cha, áo mẹ, chữ thầy” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.