English · Idiom Attested

bite the hand that feeds you

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To harm or betray someone who has helped or supported you.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Hại hoặc phản bội người đã giúp đỡ mình

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: An animal biting the hand of the person feeding it.

Describing ingratitude toward a benefactor, employer, or supporter.

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Trashing the company that trained you is biting the hand that feeds you.

Editorial example (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).

Equivalents & related

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

Topics: Hands

What does “bite the hand that feeds you” mean?

To harm or betray someone who has helped or supported you. Literally: An animal biting the hand of the person feeding it.

Is “bite the hand that feeds you” formal or informal?

bite the hand that feeds you is generally neutral; connotation: reproachful.

What is the closest equivalent?

“ăn cháo đá bát” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.