Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

lấy thúng úp voi

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

Meaning · English

Hiding an elephant under a basket — concealment outsized by its secret.

Literally: take a basket to cover the elephant

Examples

Chuyện cả cơ quan biết rồi, lấy thúng úp voi sao được.The whole office knows — you can't basket an elephant.

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 “lấy thúng úp voi” mean?

Hiding an elephant under a basket — concealment outsized by its secret. Literally: take a basket to cover the elephant

Is “lấy thúng úp voi” formal or informal?

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

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