Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

ma bắt coi mặt người ta

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

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Even ghosts check the face before they seize — bullies read their victim first.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

kẻ bắt nạt luôn quan sát trước khi hành động

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: the ghost reads the face before catching

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 “ma bắt coi mặt người ta” mean?

Even ghosts check the face before they seize — bullies read their victim first. Literally: the ghost reads the face before catching

Is “ma bắt coi mặt người ta” formal or informal?

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

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