Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

quan tha nha bắt

🎙 Say it

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

The mandarin pardons, the clerks arrest — mercy above, extortion below.

Literally: the mandarin releases, the yamen seizes

Examples

Quan tha nha bắt, khổ vẫn là dân.The mandarin pardons and the clerks arrest — the people pay either way.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

Sources & notes

Discovered via Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “quan tha nha bắt” mean?

The mandarin pardons, the clerks arrest — mercy above, extortion below. Literally: the mandarin releases, the yamen seizes

Is “quan tha nha bắt” formal or informal?

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

👁 Views 0 today 0 past 7 days 0 this month 0 all time