Ngang lưng thì thắt bao vàng

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

When one has enough, they should be content and stop striving for more.

Literally: Across the back then tie a gold bag
Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora

Examples

Khi đã có đủ tiền, anh ấy đã nói "Ngang lưng thì thắt bao vàng" và nghỉ hưu.When he had enough money, he said "Ngang lưng thì thắt bao vàng" and retired.

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed on Vietnamese Wikiquote “Ca dao 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 “Ngang lưng thì thắt bao vàng” mean?

When one has enough, they should be content and stop striving for more. Literally: Across the back then tie a gold bag

Is “Ngang lưng thì thắt bao vàng” formal or informal?

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