Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

dân dĩ thực vi tiên

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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.

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