no pain, no gain
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Effort and struggle are necessary for success
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
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
Common questions
What does “no pain, no gain” mean?
Effort and struggle are necessary for success
Is “no pain, no gain” 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?
“thả cá nhỏ, bắt cá lớn” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.