nón không quai, thuyền không lái
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A person without a leader or guidance is lost
Literally: hat without strap, boat without helm
Examples
Đội không có trưởng thì nón không quai, thuyền không láiA team without a leader is like a hat without a strap, a boat without a helm
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
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 drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-01; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “nón không quai, thuyền không lái” mean?
A person without a leader or guidance is lost Literally: hat without strap, boat without helm
Is “nón không quai, thuyền không lái” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.