Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Không làm thì đói, làm thì đau chói xương hông

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

If you don't work, you'll starve, but if you do, you'll suffer

Literally: Not doing then hungry, doing then painful hip bone

Examples

Anh ấy than thở: 'Không làm thì đói, làm thì đau chói xương hông'He complained: 'If I don't work, I'll starve, but if I do, I'll suffer'

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 “Không làm thì đói, làm thì đau chói xương hông” mean?

If you don't work, you'll starve, but if you do, you'll suffer Literally: Not doing then hungry, doing then painful hip bone

Is “Không làm thì đói, làm thì đau chói xương hông” formal or informal?

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

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