đầu chẳng phải lại phải tai
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.