Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

vuốt mặt không nể mũi

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

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Wiping the face without sparing the nose — a rebuke that forgets whose relatives are present.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

La mắng mà không để ý đến người có mặt

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: stroke the face, no regard for the nose

Examples

Vuốt mặt phải nể mũi chứ.Wipe the face, but mind the nose.

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 “vuốt mặt không nể mũi” mean?

Wiping the face without sparing the nose — a rebuke that forgets whose relatives are present. Literally: stroke the face, no regard for the nose

Is “vuốt mặt không nể mũi” formal or informal?

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

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