Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Trên cứng dưới sâu, cày hút trâu, cấy hút người

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Those in power exploit those below them

Literally: Above is hard, below is soft, plowing sucks the buffalo, planting sucks people

Examples

Chính sách mới bị chỉ trích là trên cứng dưới sâu, cày hút trâu, cấy hút ngườiThe new policy was criticized for being exploitative, with the saying 'on cứng dưới sâu, cày hút trâu, cấy hút người'

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 “Trên cứng dưới sâu, cày hút trâu, cấy hút người” mean?

Those in power exploit those below them Literally: Above is hard, below is soft, plowing sucks the buffalo, planting sucks people

Is “Trên cứng dưới sâu, cày hút trâu, cấy hút người” formal or informal?

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

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