Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

vay chín giả mười

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

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Borrow nine, repay ten — decency returns a little more than it took.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

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Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: borrow nine, return ten

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 “vay chín giả mười” mean?

Borrow nine, repay ten — decency returns a little more than it took. Literally: borrow nine, return ten

Is “vay chín giả mười” formal or informal?

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

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