English · Proverb Candidate

the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Different parts of an organization are not coordinating with each other

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Các bộ phận khác nhau của một tổ chức không phối hợp với nhau

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: one hand being unaware of the other's actions

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.

Topics: Hands

Common questions

What does “the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing” mean?

Different parts of an organization are not coordinating with each other Literally: one hand being unaware of the other's actions

Is “the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing” formal or informal?

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

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