Đói, đầu gối phải bò
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Also seen as: đói đầu gối phải bò
Meaning · English
When in dire need, one must humble themselves
Literally: Hungry, knees must crawl
Where it’s used:
Used
Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora
Sources & notes
Listed on Vietnamese Wikiquote “Tục ngữ Việt Nam” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “Đói, đầu gối phải bò” mean?
When in dire need, one must humble themselves Literally: Hungry, knees must crawl
Is “Đói, đầu gối phải bò” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.