Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

gậy bà đập lưng bà

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In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Grandma's own stick lands on grandma's back — the weapon returning to its owner.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

vũ khí quay lại với chủ sở hữu

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: her stick strikes her own back

Examples

Gậy ông đập lưng ông, gậy bà đập lưng bà.His stick lands on his own back — and hers on hers.

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 “gậy bà đập lưng bà” mean?

Grandma's own stick lands on grandma's back — the weapon returning to its owner. Literally: her stick strikes her own back

Is “gậy bà đập lưng bà” formal or informal?

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

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