Uốn tre uốn thuở còn măng

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Teach children good habits when they are young

Literally: Bend bamboo when it is still a shoot
Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora

Examples

Phải uốn tre uốn thuở còn măng để con trở nên người có íchMust teach children good habits when they are young so they become useful people

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 “Uốn tre uốn thuở còn măng” mean?

Teach children good habits when they are young Literally: Bend bamboo when it is still a shoot

Is “Uốn tre uốn thuở còn măng” formal or informal?

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