khôn chẳng qua nhẽ, khoẻ chẳng qua nhời
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Cleverness yields to reason, strength to words — argument outranks both wit and muscle.
Literally: clever not past reason, strong not past speech
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 “khôn chẳng qua nhẽ, khoẻ chẳng qua nhời” mean?
Cleverness yields to reason, strength to words — argument outranks both wit and muscle. Literally: clever not past reason, strong not past speech
Is “khôn chẳng qua nhẽ, khoẻ chẳng qua nhời” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.