rào trước đón sau
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
to cleverly point out something infelicitous in advance so that the listener will be understanding when it occurs and find it difficult to fault the speaker; to be careful with one's words; to be on the defensive
Where it’s used:
Used
Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora
Sources & notes
Imported from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); community review pending. source ↗
Common questions
What does “rào trước đón sau” mean?
to cleverly point out something infelicitous in advance so that the listener will be understanding when it occurs and find it difficult to fault the speaker; to be careful with one's words; to be on the defensive
Is “rào trước đón sau” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.