Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

máu loãng còn hơn nước lã

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

Also seen as: giọt máu đào hơn ao nước lã

Meaning · English

Thin blood still beats plain water — the faintest kinship outranks the closest stranger.

Literally: diluted blood surpasses plain water

Examples

Một giọt máu đào hơn ao nước lã.A drop of blood over a pond of water.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

Sources & notes

Discovered via Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “máu loãng còn hơn nước lã” mean?

Thin blood still beats plain water — the faintest kinship outranks the closest stranger. Literally: diluted blood surpasses plain water

Is “máu loãng còn hơn nước lã” formal or informal?

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