Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Vay bát gạo trắng, trả bát gạo hẩm

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

To return something of lesser value than what was borrowed

Literally: Borrow a bowl of white rice, repay a bowl of dry rice

Examples

Anh ấy vay bát gạo trắng, trả bát gạo hẩm, tôi không đồng ý cho anh ấy vay nữaHe borrowed a bowl of white rice and repaid a bowl of dry rice, I don't agree to lend him anymore

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 “Vay bát gạo trắng, trả bát gạo hẩm” mean?

To return something of lesser value than what was borrowed Literally: Borrow a bowl of white rice, repay a bowl of dry rice

Is “Vay bát gạo trắng, trả bát gạo hẩm” formal or informal?

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

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