đại phú do thiên, tiểu phú do cần

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

Meaning · English

Great wealth is heaven's, small wealth is diligence's — the fortune you can actually earn is the modest one.

Literally: great riches from heaven; small riches from industry

Examples

Chăm thì đủ ăn, đại phú do thiên tiểu phú do cần.Diligence feeds you — the great fortunes heaven keeps for itself.

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 “đại phú do thiên, tiểu phú do cần” mean?

Great wealth is heaven's, small wealth is diligence's — the fortune you can actually earn is the modest one. Literally: great riches from heaven; small riches from industry

Is “đại phú do thiên, tiểu phú do cần” formal or informal?

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