xa thơm gần thối
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Distant things seem attractive, but nearby ones are unpleasant
Literally: Far fragrant, near rotten
Where it’s used:
Used
Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora
Examples
Cô ấy nghĩ anh ấy rất tốt, nhưng khi quen hơn thì phát hiện ra nhiều điểm xấu, thật là xa thơm gần thối.She thought he was very good, but when she got to know him better, she discovered many bad points, it's really a case of xa thơm gần thối.
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on Vietnamese Wikiquote “Thành ngữ Việt Nam” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “xa thơm gần thối” mean?
Distant things seem attractive, but nearby ones are unpleasant Literally: Far fragrant, near rotten
Is “xa thơm gần thối” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.