Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

vô tửu bất thành lễ

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

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

No wine, no ceremony — the Vietnamese rite runs on the cup; betel opens, liquor seals.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Không có rượu, không có lễ

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: without wine, rites unformed

Examples

Cưới hỏi phải có chén rượu, vô tửu bất thành lễ.A wedding needs the cup — no wine, no ceremony.

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 “vô tửu bất thành lễ” mean?

No wine, no ceremony — the Vietnamese rite runs on the cup; betel opens, liquor seals. Literally: without wine, rites unformed

Is “vô tửu bất thành lễ” formal or informal?

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

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