Muốn ăn đậu phụ tương tầu, mài dao đánh kéo gọt đầu đi tu

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

To achieve something, one must be willing to endure hardship and sacrifice

Literally: Want to eat tofu with soy sauce, sharpen knife to cut head to become a monk

Examples

Muốn thành công thì phải biết hy sinh, như người xưa nói: Muốn ăn đậu phụ tương tầu, mài dao đánh kéo gọt đầu đi tuTo be successful, one must know how to sacrifice, as the old saying goes: Muốn ăn đậu phụ tương tầu, mài dao đánh kéo gọt đầu đi tu

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 “Muốn ăn đậu phụ tương tầu, mài dao đánh kéo gọt đầu đi tu” mean?

To achieve something, one must be willing to endure hardship and sacrifice Literally: Want to eat tofu with soy sauce, sharpen knife to cut head to become a monk

Is “Muốn ăn đậu phụ tương tầu, mài dao đánh kéo gọt đầu đi tu” formal or informal?

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

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