khéo ăn thì no, khéo co thì ấm

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: khéo ăn thì no khéo co thì ấm

Sense 1

Meaning · English

If one knows how to manage resources skillfully, one can achieve sufficiency even when means are limited.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Biết quản lý tài nguyên một cách khéo léo, người ta có thể đạt được sự đủ đầy ngay cả khi phương tiện hạn chế

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora
Sources & notes

Imported from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); community review pending. source ↗

Sense 2

Meaning · English

Being skilled or resourceful leads to comfort and satisfaction

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Có kỹ năng hoặc tài nguyên dẫn đến thoải mái và hài lòng

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: skillful eating then full, skillful wearing then warm
Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora

Examples

Cô ấy khéo ăn thì no, khéo co thì ấm nhờ biết cách quản lý chi tiêuShe is comfortable and satisfied because she knows how to manage her expenses skillfully

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed on Vietnamese Wikiquote “Thành ngữ Việt Nam” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “khéo ăn thì no, khéo co thì ấm” mean?

If one knows how to manage resources skillfully, one can achieve sufficiency even when means are limited.

Is “khéo ăn thì no, khéo co thì ấm” formal or informal?

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