đa hư bất như thiểu thiệt
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Much hollow is less than a little solid — one true handful beats a cartload of froth.
Literally: much hollow not like little solid
Examples
Đa hư bất như thiểu thiệt, làm ít mà chắc.A little solid beats much hollow — do less, do it true.
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 “đa hư bất như thiểu thiệt” mean?
Much hollow is less than a little solid — one true handful beats a cartload of froth. Literally: much hollow not like little solid
Is “đa hư bất như thiểu thiệt” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.