Đi lạy quan, về lạy dân

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Flatter those in power when seeking favor, but appease the common people when in need of support

Literally: go pray to the official, return pray to the people

Examples

Khi cần giúp đỡ, anh ta luôn đi lạy quan, về lạy dânWhen in need of help, he always flatters those in power and appeases the common people

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 2026-08-08; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “Đi lạy quan, về lạy dân” mean?

Flatter those in power when seeking favor, but appease the common people when in need of support Literally: go pray to the official, return pray to the people

Is “Đi lạy quan, về lạy dân” formal or informal?

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

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