sanh tử bất sanh tâm, sanh ngưu vô sanh giác

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

Meaning · English

Parents make the child, not its heart; the buffalo, not its horns — nature issues what nurture never ordered.

Literally: beget the child, not the heart; beget the buffalo, not the horns

Examples

Con hư đừng trách hết cha mẹ, sanh tử bất sanh tâm.Don't lay it all on the parents — they made the child, not its heart.

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 “sanh tử bất sanh tâm, sanh ngưu vô sanh giác” mean?

Parents make the child, not its heart; the buffalo, not its horns — nature issues what nurture never ordered. Literally: beget the child, not the heart; beget the buffalo, not the horns

Is “sanh tử bất sanh tâm, sanh ngưu vô sanh giác” formal or informal?

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