Chinese · Idiom Attested

恶有恶报

è yǒu è bào

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

Traditional: 惡有惡報

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Evil deeds bring evil consequences on the person who does them. Said, often with satisfaction, when a wrongdoer finally suffers; often paired with its opposite about good deeds.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Làm điều ác thì sẽ gặp quả báo ác. Thường nói, nhiều khi với vẻ hả hê, khi kẻ làm việc xấu rốt cuộc phải trả giá; hay đi đôi với vế nói về việc thiện.

Literally: evil has an evil return

Examples

善有善报，恶有恶报，坏人早晚会受到惩罚。Shàn yǒu shàn bào, è yǒu è bào, huàirén zǎowǎn huì shòudào chéngfá.Good is repaid with good and evil with evil; bad people are punished sooner or later.

Editorial example (illustrative, not a corpus attestation) — awaiting a native-speaker check

Sources & notes

Hán-Việt bridge batch 062 (2026-11-13). Headword, Traditional form and pinyin checked against CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0) source ↗ · Hán-Việt reading: Unihan kVietnamese source ↗ · Vietnamese cognate: Idiomer entry “ác hữu ác báo” (ac-gia-ac-bao). Definition, literal gloss and example sentence are original; the example has not had a native-speaker check yet.

Equivalents & related

Hán-Việt cognate ác giả ác báo what goes around comes around; you reap what you sow; as you sow, so shall you reap. Tiếng Việt Near equivalent what goes around comes around Traditional English proverbial phrase; full definition pending editorial review. English · via ác giả ác báo Near equivalent as you sow, so shall you reap Your actions will have consequences that reflect their nature English · via ác giả ác báo

Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.

Common questions

What does “恶有恶报” mean?

Evil deeds bring evil consequences on the person who does them. Said, often with satisfaction, when a wrongdoer finally suffers; often paired with its opposite about good deeds. Literally: evil has an evil return

Is “恶有恶报” formal or informal?

恶有恶报 is generally neutral.

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