Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Gỗ cứng mới biết dao sắc

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

A good person reveals their true character in difficult situations

Literally: Hard wood only knows sharp knife

Examples

Khi gặp khó khăn, anh ấy đã giúp đỡ mọi người, gỗ cứng mới biết dao sắcWhen faced with difficulties, he helped everyone, proving his true character

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 2026-08-06; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “Gỗ cứng mới biết dao sắc” mean?

A good person reveals their true character in difficult situations Literally: Hard wood only knows sharp knife

Is “Gỗ cứng mới biết dao sắc” formal or informal?

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

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