người dưng có ngãi, thì đãi người dưng, anh em không ngãi, thì đừng anh em
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
A stranger with decency, treat as kin; kin without decency, let them go — conduct, not blood, draws the family line.
Examples
Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)
Sources & notes
Discovered via Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.
Common questions
What does “người dưng có ngãi, thì đãi người dưng, anh em không ngãi, thì đừng anh em” mean?
A stranger with decency, treat as kin; kin without decency, let them go — conduct, not blood, draws the family line. Literally: the outsider with duty: host them; siblings without duty: cease the siblinghood
Is “người dưng có ngãi, thì đãi người dưng, anh em không ngãi, thì đừng anh em” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.