Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

rung cây nhát khỉ

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

Meaning · English

Shaking the tree to scare the monkey — theater of menace with nothing behind it.

Literally: shake the tree, frighten the monkey

Examples

Dọa thế thôi, rung cây nhát khỉ ấy mà.Just saber-rattling — shaking the tree to scare the monkey.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

Sources & notes

Discovered via Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “rung cây nhát khỉ” mean?

Shaking the tree to scare the monkey — theater of menace with nothing behind it. Literally: shake the tree, frighten the monkey

Is “rung cây nhát khỉ” formal or informal?

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

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