Lành làm gáo, vỡ làm muôi

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

When intact, be useful, when broken, still be useful

Literally: Good for ladle, broken for scoop

Examples

Cậu ấy thật là lành làm gáo, vỡ làm muôi, luôn giúp đỡ mọi ngườiHe's really useful, always helping others

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 “Lành làm gáo, vỡ làm muôi” mean?

When intact, be useful, when broken, still be useful Literally: Good for ladle, broken for scoop

Is “Lành làm gáo, vỡ làm muôi” formal or informal?

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

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