thiện ác chi báo, như ảnh tùy hình

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

Good and evil repay like the shadow trailing the form — recompense walks exactly your gait, one step behind.

Literally: requital of good and evil like shadow following form

Examples

Thiện ác chi báo như ảnh tùy hình, đừng làm bậy.Recompense trails you like your shadow — walk straight.

Editorial example (VI sweep batch 040, illustrative)

Sources & notes

Discovered via Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.

Common questions

What does “thiện ác chi báo, như ảnh tùy hình” mean?

Good and evil repay like the shadow trailing the form — recompense walks exactly your gait, one step behind. Literally: requital of good and evil like shadow following form

Is “thiện ác chi báo, như ảnh tùy hình” formal or informal?

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