English · Proverb Attested

if you want peace, prepare for war

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

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Visibly preparing for a fight can deter one's enemies from opening hostilities, by not giving the appearance of an easy target.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Chuẩn bị sẵn sàng cho chiến tranh có thể ngăn chặn kẻ thù

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used American English

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “if you want peace, prepare for war” mean?

Visibly preparing for a fight can deter one's enemies from opening hostilities, by not giving the appearance of an easy target.

Is “if you want peace, prepare for war” formal or informal?

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

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