Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Đói thì sang Bắc, chạy giặc thì xuống Nam

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

When in need, go north, when in danger, go south

Literally: Hungry then go North, running from enemy then go South

Examples

Khi mất việc, anh ấy nhớ câu Đói thì sang Bắc, chạy giặc thì xuống Nam và quyết định lên Hà Nội tìm cơ hội mớiWhen he lost his job, he remembered the proverb and decided to go to Hanoi to find new opportunities

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 “Đói thì sang Bắc, chạy giặc thì xuống Nam” mean?

When in need, go north, when in danger, go south Literally: Hungry then go North, running from enemy then go South

Is “Đói thì sang Bắc, chạy giặc thì xuống Nam” formal or informal?

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

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