Tiếng Việt · Proverb Attested

hữu lao vô công

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

Meaning · English

The toil real, the credit missing — sweat entered in no ledger.

Literally: there is labor, no merit

Examples

Làm hùng hục mà hữu lao vô công.Worked like an ox — all toil, no credit.

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 “hữu lao vô công” mean?

The toil real, the credit missing — sweat entered in no ledger. Literally: there is labor, no merit

Is “hữu lao vô công” formal or informal?

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

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