chuông chẳng đánh chẳng kêu, đèn chẳng khêu chẳng sáng
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Also seen as: chuông có gõ mới kêu, đèn có khêu mới sáng
An unstruck bell is silent; an untrimmed lamp is dark — merit unannounced goes unknown.
Examples
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 “chuông chẳng đánh chẳng kêu, đèn chẳng khêu chẳng sáng” mean?
An unstruck bell is silent; an untrimmed lamp is dark — merit unannounced goes unknown. Literally: unbeaten bell doesn't sound; untrimmed lamp doesn't shine
Is “chuông chẳng đánh chẳng kêu, đèn chẳng khêu chẳng sáng” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.