sống chết mặc bay

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

Meaning · English

Live or die, it's your affair — total, shameless abandonment of responsibility.

Literally: living or dying, that's on you all

Examples

Chủ thầu bỏ mặc công nhân, sống chết mặc bay.The contractor left the workers to it — live or die, their problem.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

Sources & notes

Discovered via Vietnamese Wiktionary, Thể loại:Thành ngữ tiếng Việt (CC BY-SA 4.0); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “sống chết mặc bay” mean?

Live or die, it's your affair — total, shameless abandonment of responsibility. Literally: living or dying, that's on you all

Is “sống chết mặc bay” formal or informal?

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