nhơn cùng tắc biến, vật cực tác phản

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

Meaning · English

Cornered people improvise, cornered things recoil — press anything to its limit and it turns.

Literally: person desperate: change; thing extreme: reverse

Examples

Đừng dồn ai vào chân tường, nhơn cùng tắc biến.Corner no one — the desperate always turn.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

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 “nhơn cùng tắc biến, vật cực tác phản” mean?

Cornered people improvise, cornered things recoil — press anything to its limit and it turns. Literally: person desperate: change; thing extreme: reverse

Is “nhơn cùng tắc biến, vật cực tác phản” formal or informal?

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