Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

có công mài sắt, có ngày nên kim

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

Also seen as: có công mài sắt có ngày nên kim

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Persistent effort will eventually succeed — keep grinding and the goal will be reached.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Sự cố gắng kiên trì sẽ thành công cuối cùng

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: If you put in the work grinding iron, one day it becomes a needle.

How to use it

✓ Use it when

Encouraging long, patient effort in study, craft, or training.

Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora

Examples

Mỗi ngày học mười từ thôi — có công mài sắt, có ngày nên kim.Just ten words a day — grind the iron long enough and it becomes a needle.

Editorial example (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sense 2

Meaning · English

Vietnamese idiom; English definition pending editorial review.

Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora

Sources & notes

Listed on Vietnamese Wikiquote “Thành ngữ Việt Nam” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31); definition pending editorial review.

Equivalents & related

Near equivalent practice makes perfect Repeated practice is the way to master a skill. English

Common questions

What does “có công mài sắt, có ngày nên kim” mean?

Persistent effort will eventually succeed — keep grinding and the goal will be reached. Literally: If you put in the work grinding iron, one day it becomes a needle.

Is “có công mài sắt, có ngày nên kim” formal or informal?

có công mài sắt, có ngày nên kim is generally neutral; connotation: encouraging.

What is the closest equivalent?

“practice makes perfect” (English) — near equivalent.