cốt nhục tương tàn
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Flesh and bone devouring each other — kin turned on kin.
Literally: bone and flesh mutually destroy
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 “cốt nhục tương tàn” mean?
Flesh and bone devouring each other — kin turned on kin. Literally: bone and flesh mutually destroy
Is “cốt nhục tương tàn” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.