Nuôi tằm không ná, nhổ mạ không trối
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To be helpless in a situation
Literally: Raise silkworms without mulberry, pull out hemp without a handle
Examples
Khi bị sa lầy vào vấn đề đó, tôi cảm thấy nuôi tằm không ná, nhổ mạ không trối.When I got stuck in that problem, I felt helpless
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 “Nuôi tằm không ná, nhổ mạ không trối” mean?
To be helpless in a situation Literally: Raise silkworms without mulberry, pull out hemp without a handle
Is “Nuôi tằm không ná, nhổ mạ không trối” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
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