Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Làm thì ốm, giã cốm thì siêng

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

People only work hard when they have to, not when they want to

Literally: Work then ill, husk rice then diligent

Examples

Anh ấy chỉ làm việc chăm chỉ khi bị nhắc nhở, làm thì ốm, giã cốm thì siêngHe only works hard when reminded, it's a case of 'work then ill, husk rice then diligent'

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 “Làm thì ốm, giã cốm thì siêng” mean?

People only work hard when they have to, not when they want to Literally: Work then ill, husk rice then diligent

Is “Làm thì ốm, giã cốm thì siêng” formal or informal?

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

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