Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

không chó bắt mèo ăn dơ

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

Meaning · English

No dog? The cat gets the scraps duty — necessity promotes whoever's left.

Literally: lacking a dog, make the cat eat the filth

Examples

Thiếu người thì mình kiêm, không chó bắt mèo ăn dơ.Short-staffed, so I cover it — no dog, the cat gets the job.

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 “không chó bắt mèo ăn dơ” mean?

No dog? The cat gets the scraps duty — necessity promotes whoever's left. Literally: lacking a dog, make the cat eat the filth

Is “không chó bắt mèo ăn dơ” formal or informal?

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

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