đổi bát bồ-hôi lấy bát cơm
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
A bowl of sweat traded for a bowl of rice — the exchange rate of honest labor, one to one.
Literally: swap the sweat bowl for the rice bowl
Examples
Đổi bát mồ hôi lấy bát cơm.A bowl of sweat for a bowl of rice.
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 “đổi bát bồ-hôi lấy bát cơm” mean?
A bowl of sweat traded for a bowl of rice — the exchange rate of honest labor, one to one. Literally: swap the sweat bowl for the rice bowl
Is “đổi bát bồ-hôi lấy bát cơm” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.