dân dĩ thực vi tiên
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
To the people, food comes first — a state that would keep its people must first keep them fed.
Literally: the people take eating as foremost
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 “dân dĩ thực vi tiên” mean?
To the people, food comes first — a state that would keep its people must first keep them fed. Literally: the people take eating as foremost
Is “dân dĩ thực vi tiên” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.