English · Proverb Candidate

as you sow, so shall you reap

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: as you sow so shall you reap

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

The consequences of one's actions to oneself are in proportion to one's good or bad intentions towards others.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Hậu quả của hành động tương xứng với ý định

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

Near-synonyms: as you make your bed, so you must lie in it; (archaic) as you have brewed, so you must drink

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Your actions will have consequences that reflect their nature

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Hành động của bạn sẽ có hậu quả tương ứng

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: farming metaphor

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

He spent years cheating others, and now, as you sow, so shall you reap, he's facing financial ruin

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Equivalents & related

Near equivalent gieo gió gặt bão sow the wind, reap the whirlwind; as you sow, so shall you reap Tiếng Việt Near equivalent ác giả ác báo what goes around comes around; you reap what you sow; as you sow, so shall you reap. Tiếng Việt Near equivalent reap the whirlwind Suffer the consequences of one's own actions English · via gieo gió gặt bão Near equivalent what goes around comes around Traditional English proverbial phrase; full definition pending editorial review. English · via ác giả ác báo

Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.

Topics: Pigs

Common questions

What does “as you sow, so shall you reap” mean?

The consequences of one's actions to oneself are in proportion to one's good or bad intentions towards others.

Is “as you sow, so shall you reap” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

What is the closest equivalent?

“gieo gió gặt bão” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.