Ở trong bếp thì là thổ công, ở dưới sông thì là hà bá
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
A person in charge has authority only within their domain
Một người có thẩm quyền chỉ có thẩm quyền trong phạm vi của họ
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Examples
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 2026-08-09; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “Ở trong bếp thì là thổ công, ở dưới sông thì là hà bá” mean?
A person in charge has authority only within their domain Literally: In the kitchen is the landlord, in the river is the rivermaster
Is “Ở trong bếp thì là thổ công, ở dưới sông thì là hà bá” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.