xé tay vá vạt
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Tearing the sleeve to patch the hem — poverty's tailoring, robbing one edge for the other.
Literally: tear the sleeve, patch the flap
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 “xé tay vá vạt” mean?
Tearing the sleeve to patch the hem — poverty's tailoring, robbing one edge for the other. Literally: tear the sleeve, patch the flap
Is “xé tay vá vạt” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.