biết người biết mặt, chẳng biết lòng
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
You know the person and the face, never the heart — acquaintance stops at the skin.
Literally: know the person, know the face, not the heart
Examples
Quen bao năm mà vẫn bị lừa, biết người biết mặt chẳng biết lòng.Friends for years and still deceived — you know the face, never the heart.
Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)
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 “biết người biết mặt, chẳng biết lòng” mean?
You know the person and the face, never the heart — acquaintance stops at the skin. Literally: know the person, know the face, not the heart
Is “biết người biết mặt, chẳng biết lòng” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.