Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

ngồi thúng khôn bề cất thúng

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

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Sitting in the basket, how to lift the basket — the insider's dilemma; you can't carry what you're part of.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Người trong cuộc không thể khách quan

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: seated in the basket, no way to raise it

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 “ngồi thúng khôn bề cất thúng” mean?

Sitting in the basket, how to lift the basket — the insider's dilemma; you can't carry what you're part of. Literally: seated in the basket, no way to raise it

Is “ngồi thúng khôn bề cất thúng” formal or informal?

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

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