Tiếng Việt · Idiom Attested

trên kính dưới nhường

🎙 Say it

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

Respect upward, yield downward — the well-ordered household's two directions of courtesy.

Literally: above: honor; below: defer

Examples

Nhà ấy trên kính dưới nhường.That family honors upward and yields downward.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

Sources & notes

Discovered via Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Nam ngạn chích cẩm (Phạm Quang Sán, 1918). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “trên kính dưới nhường” mean?

Respect upward, yield downward — the well-ordered household's two directions of courtesy. Literally: above: honor; below: defer

Is “trên kính dưới nhường” 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