Ngoài miệng thì nói Nam mô

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

says one thing but does another

Literally: outside the mouth says Nam mo
Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora

Examples

Ngoài miệng thì nói Nam mô, nhưng trong lòng thì hoàn toàn khácHe says one thing, but his heart is completely different

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 “Ngoài miệng thì nói Nam mô” mean?

says one thing but does another Literally: outside the mouth says Nam mo

Is “Ngoài miệng thì nói Nam mô” formal or informal?

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