Thượng điền tích thuỷ, hạ điền nguyên
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Upper fields retain water, lower fields get the benefit
Literally: upper field store water, lower field origin
Examples
Người trên giữ nước, người dưới được nguồnThose above retain the water, those below get the source
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.
Advertisement
Ad space — ads help keep Idiomer free. Premium will remove them.
Common questions
What does “Thượng điền tích thuỷ, hạ điền nguyên” mean?
Upper fields retain water, lower fields get the benefit Literally: upper field store water, lower field origin
Is “Thượng điền tích thuỷ, hạ điền nguyên” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
Advertisement
Ad space — ads help keep Idiomer free. Premium will remove them.