khéo làm tôi vụng
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
The skillful end up serving the clumsy — cleverness earns the work, dullness the rest.
Literally: the deft serve the maladroit
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 “khéo làm tôi vụng” mean?
The skillful end up serving the clumsy — cleverness earns the work, dullness the rest. Literally: the deft serve the maladroit
Is “khéo làm tôi vụng” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.