con gái mười hai bến nước

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

Meaning · English

A girl faces twelve landings — a woman's marriage is a ferry that may tie up at any of twelve shores, clear or murky.

Literally: a daughter: twelve river landings

Examples

Phận con gái mười hai bến nước, trong nhờ đục chịu.A daughter's fate is twelve landings — clear water if lucky, murky if not.

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 “con gái mười hai bến nước” mean?

A girl faces twelve landings — a woman's marriage is a ferry that may tie up at any of twelve shores, clear or murky. Literally: a daughter: twelve river landings

Is “con gái mười hai bến nước” formal or informal?

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