Ma nhà chưa tỏ, ma ngõ đã hay
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Troubles at home are known to outsiders before they are acknowledged by those within.
Examples
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Headword listed in the vdict.com proverb dictionary index (discovery source; headword only — no source content copied). Entered as candidate 2026-08-05; definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-07; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “Ma nhà chưa tỏ, ma ngõ đã hay” mean?
Troubles at home are known to outsiders before they are acknowledged by those within. Literally: The ghost of the house is not yet clear, the ghost of the alley already knows
Is “Ma nhà chưa tỏ, ma ngõ đã hay” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.