ăn thì hơn, hờn thì thiệt
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Eating gains, sulking loses — storm off and you forfeit your share.
Literally: to eat is to gain, to sulk is to lose
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 “ăn thì hơn, hờn thì thiệt” mean?
Eating gains, sulking loses — storm off and you forfeit your share. Literally: to eat is to gain, to sulk is to lose
Is “ăn thì hơn, hờn thì thiệt” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.