Tiếng Việt · Idiom Attested

mèo thấy mỡ

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

Meaning · English

The cat that saw the lard — craving with its whiskers already in the dish.

Literally: cat sees the fat

Examples

Nó nhìn chiếc xe như mèo thấy mỡ.He eyed that motorbike like a cat eyeing lard.

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 “mèo thấy mỡ” mean?

The cat that saw the lard — craving with its whiskers already in the dish. Literally: cat sees the fat

Is “mèo thấy mỡ” formal or informal?

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

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