Sống cục đất, mất cục vàng

🎙 Say it

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

To lose something more valuable while trying to save something less valuable

Literally: live with a lump of earth, die with a lump of gold

Examples

Anh ấy bán nhà để chữa bệnh, thật là sống cục đất, mất cục vàng.He sold his house to get treatment, what a waste, it's like living with a lump of earth and dying with a lump of gold.

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 “Sống cục đất, mất cục vàng” mean?

To lose something more valuable while trying to save something less valuable Literally: live with a lump of earth, die with a lump of gold

Is “Sống cục đất, mất cục vàng” formal or informal?

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

👁 Views 0 today 0 past 7 days 0 this month 0 all time