Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Thứ nhất thì quản voi già, thứ nhì hầu thuốc, thứ ba sãi đò

🎙 Say it

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

To have three main tasks or responsibilities

Literally: First manage old elephants, second serve medicine, third ferry monks

Examples

Công việc của anh ấy là thứ nhất thì quản voi già, thứ nhì hầu thuốc, thứ ba sãi đòHis job is to have multiple responsibilities

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 “Thứ nhất thì quản voi già, thứ nhì hầu thuốc, thứ ba sãi đò” mean?

To have three main tasks or responsibilities Literally: First manage old elephants, second serve medicine, third ferry monks

Is “Thứ nhất thì quản voi già, thứ nhì hầu thuốc, thứ ba sãi đò” 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