Đến với ma phải quỷ quyệt, đến với Phật phải từ bi
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Behave according to the company you keep
Literally: When with ghosts be cunning, when with Buddha be compassionate
Examples
Khi đi chơi với bạn xấu, anh ta phải học cách đến với ma phải quỷ quyệt.When hanging out with bad friends, he has to learn to behave cunningly.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Headword listed in the vdict.com proverb dictionary index (discovery source; headword only — no source content copied). Entered as candidate 2026-08-05; definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-09; pending editor spot-check.
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Common questions
What does “Đến với ma phải quỷ quyệt, đến với Phật phải từ bi” mean?
Behave according to the company you keep Literally: When with ghosts be cunning, when with Buddha be compassionate
Is “Đến với ma phải quỷ quyệt, đến với Phật phải từ bi” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
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