Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Tát nước không làm nong như ao trong hết cá

🎙 Say it

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

A small loss can lead to a much bigger one

Literally: Slapping water doesn't make it hot like a pond that's lost all its fish

Examples

Anh ấy đã mất việc và bây giờ Tát nước không làm nong như ao trong hết cáHe lost his job and now a small loss has led to a much bigger one

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 2026-08-08; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “Tát nước không làm nong như ao trong hết cá” mean?

A small loss can lead to a much bigger one Literally: Slapping water doesn't make it hot like a pond that's lost all its fish

Is “Tát nước không làm nong như ao trong hết cá” formal or informal?

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

👁 Views 0 today 0 past 7 days 0 this month 0 all time