Tiếc thay hạt gạo tám xoan
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Regrettable loss of something small but valuable
Literally: A pity for eight-odd grains of rice
Where it’s used:
Used
Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora
Examples
Tiếc thay hạt gạo tám xoan, nhưng không thể giữ lạiRegrettably, those few grains of rice are lost, but we can't keep them
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on Vietnamese Wikiquote “Ca dao Việt Nam” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “Tiếc thay hạt gạo tám xoan” mean?
Regrettable loss of something small but valuable Literally: A pity for eight-odd grains of rice
Is “Tiếc thay hạt gạo tám xoan” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.