qua sông thì phải lụy đò
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
To cross the river you must humor the ferryman — needing help means bowing to the helper.
Literally: crossing the river, defer to the ferry
Examples
Muốn xin giấy phép thì qua sông phải lụy đò.Need the permit? Crossing the river means humoring the ferryman.
Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)
Sources & notes
Discovered via Vietnamese Wiktionary, Thể loại:Thành ngữ tiếng Việt (CC BY-SA 4.0); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.
Common questions
What does “qua sông thì phải lụy đò” mean?
To cross the river you must humor the ferryman — needing help means bowing to the helper. Literally: crossing the river, defer to the ferry
Is “qua sông thì phải lụy đò” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.