Được cái vai thì gai con mắt, được con mắt thì ngặt cái vai
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
One benefit comes with another disadvantage
Literally: Have shoulder then thorn eye, have eye then narrow shoulder
Examples
Anh ấy được tăng lương nhưng phải làm việc nhiều hơn, đúng như câu nói: Được cái vai thì gai con mắt, được con mắt thì ngặt cái vaiHe got a raise but had to work more, just like the saying: one benefit comes with another disadvantage
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 2026-08-08; pending editor spot-check.
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Common questions
What does “Được cái vai thì gai con mắt, được con mắt thì ngặt cái vai” mean?
One benefit comes with another disadvantage Literally: Have shoulder then thorn eye, have eye then narrow shoulder
Is “Được cái vai thì gai con mắt, được con mắt thì ngặt cái vai” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
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