dạy con dạy thuở còn thơ, dạy vợ dạy thuở ban sơ mới về
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Teach a child in the cradle and a wife on arrival — habits set at the threshold or never.
Literally: teach the child in infancy, the wife newly come
Examples
Uốn măng chớ đợi thành tre, dạy con dạy thuở còn thơ.Bend the shoot before it's bamboo — teach the child while it's small.
Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)
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 “dạy con dạy thuở còn thơ, dạy vợ dạy thuở ban sơ mới về” mean?
Teach a child in the cradle and a wife on arrival — habits set at the threshold or never. Literally: teach the child in infancy, the wife newly come
Is “dạy con dạy thuở còn thơ, dạy vợ dạy thuở ban sơ mới về” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.