Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

nước gáo tắm cho voi

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

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

A gourd of water to bathe an elephant — provision comically beneath the need.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

cung cấp không đủ so với nhu cầu

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: dipper water bathes the elephant

Examples

Ngân sách ấy như nước gáo tắm cho voi.That budget is a gourd of water on an elephant.

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 “nước gáo tắm cho voi” mean?

A gourd of water to bathe an elephant — provision comically beneath the need. Literally: dipper water bathes the elephant

Is “nước gáo tắm cho voi” formal or informal?

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

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