Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

đầu chẳng phải lại phải tai

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In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

Not the head's fault, yet the ear pays — punishment landing on the adjacent innocent.

Literally: not the head's guilt, yet the ear suffers

Examples

Đầu chẳng phải, phải tai.The head did nothing — the ear pays anyway.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

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 is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “đầu chẳng phải lại phải tai” mean?

Not the head's fault, yet the ear pays — punishment landing on the adjacent innocent. Literally: not the head's guilt, yet the ear suffers

Is “đầu chẳng phải lại phải tai” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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