never speak ill of the dead
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Avoid criticizing or speaking negatively about someone who has died
Tránh chỉ trích hoặc nói tiêu cực về người đã qua đời
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Equivalents & related
Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.
Common questions
What does “never speak ill of the dead” mean?
Avoid criticizing or speaking negatively about someone who has died
Is “never speak ill of the dead” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“Đừng xét đoán người qua bề ngoài” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.