Đàn đâu mà gẩy tai trâu, đạn đâu bắn sẻ, gươm đâu chém ruồi
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
One should not use excessive force to achieve a small goal
Không nên dùng lực quá mạnh để đạt mục tiêu nhỏ
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Examples
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Headword listed in the vdict.com proverb dictionary index (discovery source; headword only — no source content copied). Entered as candidate 2026-08-05; definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-08; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “Đàn đâu mà gẩy tai trâu, đạn đâu bắn sẻ, gươm đâu chém ruồi” mean?
One should not use excessive force to achieve a small goal Literally: Where is the herd to scratch the buffalo's ear, where is the bullet to shoot the sparrow, what sword to kill the fly
Is “Đàn đâu mà gẩy tai trâu, đạn đâu bắn sẻ, gươm đâu chém ruồi” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.