Tiếng Việt · Idiom Attested

kiếm củi ba năm thiêu một giờ

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In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

Three years gathering firewood, burned in one hour — years of careful saving destroyed by one folly.

Literally: gather wood three years, burn it in an hour

Examples

Một câu nói dại, kiếm củi ba năm thiêu một giờ.One foolish remark — three years of firewood burned in an hour.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

Sources & notes

Discovered via Vietnamese Wiktionary, Thể loại:Thành ngữ tiếng Việt (CC BY-SA 4.0); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “kiếm củi ba năm thiêu một giờ” mean?

Three years gathering firewood, burned in one hour — years of careful saving destroyed by one folly. Literally: gather wood three years, burn it in an hour

Is “kiếm củi ba năm thiêu một giờ” formal or informal?

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

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