Nhất phao câu, nhì đầu cánh
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Also seen as: Nhất phao câu, nhì chéo cánh
Meaning · English
To be the best or second best at something
Literally: First is the swallow, second is the head/wing of the chicken
Where it’s used:
Used
Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora
Examples
Cô ấy nhất phao câu trong kỳ thi cuối kỳShe was the best in the final exam
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on Vietnamese Wikiquote “Thành ngữ 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 “Nhất phao câu, nhì đầu cánh” mean?
To be the best or second best at something Literally: First is the swallow, second is the head/wing of the chicken
Is “Nhất phao câu, nhì đầu cánh” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.