trời không cho hùm có vây

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

Meaning · English

Heaven gives the tiger no wings — mercy in the design; armed ferocity is kept flightless.

Literally: heaven does not give the tiger wings

Examples

May mà trời không cho hùm có vây.Mercifully, heaven leaves the tiger wingless.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

Sources & notes

Discovered via Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “trời không cho hùm có vây” mean?

Heaven gives the tiger no wings — mercy in the design; armed ferocity is kept flightless. Literally: heaven does not give the tiger wings

Is “trời không cho hùm có vây” formal or informal?

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