khách tới nhà chẳng gà thì vịt
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
A guest at the door — if not chicken, then duck — hospitality that always finds something for the pot.
Examples
Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)
Sources & notes
Discovered via Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.
Common questions
What does “khách tới nhà chẳng gà thì vịt” mean?
A guest at the door — if not chicken, then duck — hospitality that always finds something for the pot. Literally: guest arrives: if not fowl, then duck
Is “khách tới nhà chẳng gà thì vịt” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.