Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

no nên bụt, đói nên ma

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

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Fed, a Buddha; starved, a ghost — morality runs on meals.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Có ăn thì có đức

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: full: become Buddha; hungry: become ghost

Examples

No nên bụt, đói nên ma.Full men make Buddhas; hungry men make ghosts.

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 “no nên bụt, đói nên ma” mean?

Fed, a Buddha; starved, a ghost — morality runs on meals. Literally: full: become Buddha; hungry: become ghost

Is “no nên bụt, đói nên ma” formal or informal?

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

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