ninh vi sơn thượng hổ, bất tác phủ trung ngư
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Better a tiger on the mountain than a fish in the pot — sovereignty in the wild over comfort in captivity.
Literally: rather be the mountain tiger than the pot fish
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 “ninh vi sơn thượng hổ, bất tác phủ trung ngư” mean?
Better a tiger on the mountain than a fish in the pot — sovereignty in the wild over comfort in captivity. Literally: rather be the mountain tiger than the pot fish
Is “ninh vi sơn thượng hổ, bất tác phủ trung ngư” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.