Tiếng Việt · Proverb Candidate

Sâu dưa thì đen, sâu kèn thì trắng

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Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

People's true nature is revealed in difficult situations

Literally: Cucumber worm is black, eggplant worm is white

Examples

Khi gặp khó khăn, anh ấy đã показать bản chất thật sự của mình, sâu dưa thì đen, sâu kèn thì trắngWhen faced with difficulties, he showed his true nature, just like the proverb says

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 2026-08-07; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “Sâu dưa thì đen, sâu kèn thì trắng” mean?

People's true nature is revealed in difficult situations Literally: Cucumber worm is black, eggplant worm is white

Is “Sâu dưa thì đen, sâu kèn thì trắng” formal or informal?

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

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