Nước trong mà giếng hôi phèn, tuy là em lịch mà hèn mẹ cha
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A good person from a bad family
Literally: Clear water but smelly well, though younger in age but disrespects parents
Examples
Anh ấy là người tốt, nhưng nước trong mà giếng hôi phèn, tuy là em lịch mà hèn mẹ chaHe's a good person, but comes from a bad family
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Headword listed in the vdict.com proverb dictionary index (discovery source; headword only — no source content copied). Entered as candidate 2026-08-05; definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-07; pending editor spot-check.
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Common questions
What does “Nước trong mà giếng hôi phèn, tuy là em lịch mà hèn mẹ cha” mean?
A good person from a bad family Literally: Clear water but smelly well, though younger in age but disrespects parents
Is “Nước trong mà giếng hôi phèn, tuy là em lịch mà hèn mẹ cha” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
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