đại mộc lưu giang, bất đắc hồi cố
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Great timber down the river never returns — the drifted life, past rowing home.
Literally: great wood flows the river, cannot look back
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 “đại mộc lưu giang, bất đắc hồi cố” mean?
Great timber down the river never returns — the drifted life, past rowing home. Literally: great wood flows the river, cannot look back
Is “đại mộc lưu giang, bất đắc hồi cố” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.