Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Sáo đói thì sáo ăn đa, phượng hoàng lúc đói cứt gà cũng ăn

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

When desperate, one will accept anything

Literally: Starving magpie eats many things, phoenix when hungry eats chicken feces

Examples

Khi mất việc, anh ấy chấp nhận làm bất cứ công việc gì, vì sáo đói thì sáo ăn đa, phượng hoàng lúc đói cứt gà cũng ăn.When he lost his job, he accepted any job, because when desperate, one will accept anything

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Headword listed in the vdict.com proverb dictionary index (discovery source; headword only — no source content copied). Entered as candidate 2026-08-05; definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-07; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “Sáo đói thì sáo ăn đa, phượng hoàng lúc đói cứt gà cũng ăn” mean?

When desperate, one will accept anything Literally: Starving magpie eats many things, phoenix when hungry eats chicken feces

Is “Sáo đói thì sáo ăn đa, phượng hoàng lúc đói cứt gà cũng ăn” formal or informal?

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

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