Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Thương nhưng gậm xương chẳng được

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Love someone but cannot help them

Literally: Love but gnaw on bones to no avail

Examples

Anh ấy thương em nhưng gậm xương chẳng được nên đành để em điHe loved her but couldn't help her, so he let her go

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 “Thương nhưng gậm xương chẳng được” mean?

Love someone but cannot help them Literally: Love but gnaw on bones to no avail

Is “Thương nhưng gậm xương chẳng được” formal or informal?

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

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