dại làm cột con, khôn làm cột cái
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A foolish person takes responsibility, while a wise one gives orders
Literally: foolish make column child, wise make column main
Examples
Anh ấy dại làm cột con, mà không biết cách chỉ đạoHe foolishly takes responsibility, but doesn't know how to give directions
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Discovered via Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “dại làm cột con, khôn làm cột cái” mean?
A foolish person takes responsibility, while a wise one gives orders Literally: foolish make column child, wise make column main
Is “dại làm cột con, khôn làm cột cái” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.