Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Hoài cành mai cho cú đậu, hoài hòn ngọc cho ngâu vây

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

To reserve something valuable for someone unworthy

Literally: Reserving apricot branch for owl to perch, reserving jade for turtle to hold

Examples

Ông ấy hoài cành mai cho cú đậu khi đưa cơ hội cho người không xứng đángHe reserved the apricot branch for the owl to perch when giving the opportunity to someone who didn't deserve it

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 2026-08-06; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “Hoài cành mai cho cú đậu, hoài hòn ngọc cho ngâu vây” mean?

To reserve something valuable for someone unworthy Literally: Reserving apricot branch for owl to perch, reserving jade for turtle to hold

Is “Hoài cành mai cho cú đậu, hoài hòn ngọc cho ngâu vây” formal or informal?

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

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