Khéo thì chân tay, vụng thì chày cối
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
A skilled person can achieve with minimal tools, while an unskilled person cannot even with many tools
Examples
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 “Khéo thì chân tay, vụng thì chày cối” mean?
A skilled person can achieve with minimal tools, while an unskilled person cannot even with many tools Literally: Skilled then hands and feet, clumsy then mortar and pestle
Is “Khéo thì chân tay, vụng thì chày cối” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.