mất trộm mới lò rào dậu
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Only when something is lost do precautions get taken
Literally: lose thief then build fence
Where it’s used:
Used
Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora
Examples
Mất trộm mới lò rào dậu, gia đình anh ấy mới lắp camera an ninh.It wasn't until they got robbed that his family installed security cameras.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on Vietnamese Wikiquote “Thành ngữ Việt Nam” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “mất trộm mới lò rào dậu” mean?
Only when something is lost do precautions get taken Literally: lose thief then build fence
Is “mất trộm mới lò rào dậu” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.