giấy trắng mực đen, làm quen thiên hạ

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

Also seen as: mực đen giấy trắng

Meaning · English

White paper, black ink — put it in writing and strangers can trust each other.

Literally: white paper, black ink: acquainted with the world

Examples

Làm ăn phải hợp đồng, giấy trắng mực đen.Business needs paper — white page, black ink.

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 “giấy trắng mực đen, làm quen thiên hạ” mean?

White paper, black ink — put it in writing and strangers can trust each other. Literally: white paper, black ink: acquainted with the world

Is “giấy trắng mực đen, làm quen thiên hạ” formal or informal?

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