còn nước còn tát, hết nước tát tới bùn
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Also seen as: còn nước còn tát
Meaning · English
As long as there's still a chance, one can still take action
Literally: As long as there's water, slap the water, when out of water, slap the mud
Where it’s used:
Used
Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora
Sources & notes
Listed on Vietnamese Wikiquote “Tục ngữ Việt Nam” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “còn nước còn tát, hết nước tát tới bùn” mean?
As long as there's still a chance, one can still take action Literally: As long as there's water, slap the water, when out of water, slap the mud
Is “còn nước còn tát, hết nước tát tới bùn” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.