gần mực thì đen, gần đèn thì sáng
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Also seen as: gần mực thì đen, gần đèn thì rạng
Meaning · English
You take on the character of the company you keep — bad company corrupts, good company uplifts.
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Tính cách bị ảnh hưởng bởi những người xung quanh
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: Near ink you turn black; near the lamp you shine.
How to use it
✓ Use it when
Advising about friendships and environments, especially to young people.
Register: neutralConnotation: advisoryEra: Traditional – present
Where it’s used:
Used
Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora
More common
Miền Bắc · Northern Vietnam
• the “gần đèn thì rạng” variant is more common in the North
Examples
Chọn bạn mà chơi — gần mực thì đen, gần đèn thì sáng.Choose your friends carefully — near ink you blacken, near a lamp you brighten.
Editorial example (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Common questions
What does “gần mực thì đen, gần đèn thì sáng” mean?
You take on the character of the company you keep — bad company corrupts, good company uplifts. Literally: Near ink you turn black; near the lamp you shine.
Is “gần mực thì đen, gần đèn thì sáng” formal or informal?
gần mực thì đen, gần đèn thì sáng is generally neutral; connotation: advisory.