Người ăn thì còn, con ăn thì hết
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
When the owner consumes something, it's preserved, but when others use it, it's quickly depleted.
Examples
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 “Người ăn thì còn, con ăn thì hết” mean?
When the owner consumes something, it's preserved, but when others use it, it's quickly depleted. Literally: People eat, still remain; children eat, then finish
Is “Người ăn thì còn, con ăn thì hết” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.