Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Bé ăn trộm gà, cả ăn trộm trâu, lâu lâu làm giặc

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Small mistakes can lead to bigger ones

Literally: Children steal chickens, adults steal cows, eventually become bandits

Examples

Anh ấy bắt đầu bằng những hành động nhỏ nhặt, nhưng cuối cùng đã trở thành một tên trộm cướpHe started with small actions, but eventually became a thief

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 2026-08-05; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “Bé ăn trộm gà, cả ăn trộm trâu, lâu lâu làm giặc” mean?

Small mistakes can lead to bigger ones Literally: Children steal chickens, adults steal cows, eventually become bandits

Is “Bé ăn trộm gà, cả ăn trộm trâu, lâu lâu làm giặc” formal or informal?

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

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