máu chảy ruột mềm

Definition
  1. Idiom:
    • Blood is thicker than water: A proverb expressing the idea that familial bonds and relationships are the strongest and most important; when a family member suffers, others feel deep sympathy and pain.
    • To feel deep compassion for kin: Describes the natural, instinctive empathy and soft-heartedness one feels when a close relative is in trouble or hurt, akin to physical pain.
Usage Examples
  • Idiom:
    • Thấy chị gái khóc, nó thật sự cảm thấy máu chảy ruột mềm. (Seeing her older sister cry, she truly felt that blood is thicker than water.)
    • Dù có bất đồng, nhưng máu chảy ruột mềm, anh không thể bỏ mặc em trai được. (Despite their disagreements, blood is thicker than water; he couldn't abandon his younger brother.)
Advanced Usage
  • This idiom is often used to explain or justify actions taken to help family members unconditionally, emphasizing duty and innate emotional connection over logic or personal grievance.
  • It can be used in a broader, metaphorical sense to describe deep solidarity within any very close-knit group, though its primary reference is to blood relations.
Variants and Related Words

  • Ruột thịt (n): flesh and blood; kin, immediate family.

    • Họ là người ruột thịt, nên lúc nào cũng giúp đỡ nhau. (They are flesh and blood, so they always help each other.)

  • Tình thâm (n): deep affection (often within family).

    • Tình thâm giữa mẹ và con không gì so sánh được. (The deep affection between mother and child is incomparable.)
Synonyms
  • Blood is thicker than water: The closest English proverb in meaning.
  • Familial bond: The connection between family members.
  • Kinship sympathy: Compassion felt for one's relatives.
Related Idioms

  • Một giọt máu đào hơn ao nước lã: One drop of blood is worth more than a pond of plain water. (Another Vietnamese proverb stressing the superior value of blood relations.)

    • Nhớ câu "một giọt máu đào hơn ao nước lã" mà nó quyết định giúp đỡ người anh họ. (Remembering the saying "one drop of blood is worth more than a pond of plain water," he decided to help his cousin.)

  • Chị ngã em nâng: When the elder sister falls, the younger sister lifts her up. (Describes siblings supporting each other.)

    • Hai chị em luôn yêu thương, đúng là chị ngã em nâng. (The two sisters always love each other; it's truly a case of when one falls, the other lifts her up.)

Proverbs and Idioms