Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Khi đi như kiến bò, khi về như cò bay

🎙 Say it

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Progress is slow at first but speeds up over time

Literally: When going like ants crawling, when returning like pigeons flying

Examples

Công việc khởi đầu khó khăn nhưng sau đó mọi thứ trở nên dễ dàng hơn, như câu nói khi đi như kiến bò, khi về như cò bayThe work started with difficulties but later everything became easier, as the saying goes when going like ants crawling, when returning like pigeons flying

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 “Khi đi như kiến bò, khi về như cò bay” mean?

Progress is slow at first but speeds up over time Literally: When going like ants crawling, when returning like pigeons flying

Is “Khi đi như kiến bò, khi về như cò bay” formal or informal?

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

👁 Views 0 today 0 past 7 days 0 this month 0 all time