Ăn thì lành, để dành thì đau
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
It's better to use or consume something than to save it and risk losing it
Tốt hơn là sử dụng hoặc tiêu thụ thứ gì đó thay vì tiết kiệm và冒 rủi ro mất mát
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Examples
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Headword listed in the vdict.com proverb dictionary index (discovery source; headword only — no source content copied). Entered as candidate 2026-08-05; definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-08; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “Ăn thì lành, để dành thì đau” mean?
It's better to use or consume something than to save it and risk losing it Literally: Eat then well, leave to save then painful
Is “Ăn thì lành, để dành thì đau” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.