uống nước sông nhớ ngọn nguồn
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Drinking river water, remember the source upstream — every benefit has a headwater to honor.
Literally: drinking the river, recall the source
Examples
Uống nước nhớ nguồn.Drink the water, honor the spring.
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 “uống nước sông nhớ ngọn nguồn” mean?
Drinking river water, remember the source upstream — every benefit has a headwater to honor. Literally: drinking the river, recall the source
Is “uống nước sông nhớ ngọn nguồn” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.