Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Đỉa kéo lên, sên kéo xuống

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Some people try to improve a situation, while others undermine it

Literally: leeches pull up, earthworms pull down

Examples

Anh ta luôn giúp đỡ, nhưng có người như đỉa kéo lên, sên kéo xuống, khiến công việc bị chậm trễHe always helps, but there are people like leeches pulling up and earthworms pulling down, causing the work to be delayed

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Headword listed in the vdict.com proverb dictionary index (discovery source; headword only — no source content copied). Entered as candidate 2026-08-05; definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-09; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “Đỉa kéo lên, sên kéo xuống” mean?

Some people try to improve a situation, while others undermine it Literally: leeches pull up, earthworms pull down

Is “Đỉa kéo lên, sên kéo xuống” formal or informal?

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

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