Phá lá cây thì dễ, phá chồi chẳng dễ đâu

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

It's easy to destroy something when it's weak, but hard when it's strong

Literally: Breaking a leaf is easy, breaking a sprout is not easy

Examples

Phá lá cây thì dễ, phá chồi chẳng dễ đâu, anh ạ, công ty đó dễ bị phá sản lúc mới thành lậpIt's easy to break a leaf, but hard to break a sprout, yes, that company was easy to go bankrupt when it was first established

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.

Common questions

What does “Phá lá cây thì dễ, phá chồi chẳng dễ đâu” mean?

It's easy to destroy something when it's weak, but hard when it's strong Literally: Breaking a leaf is easy, breaking a sprout is not easy

Is “Phá lá cây thì dễ, phá chồi chẳng dễ đâu” formal or informal?

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

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