thuốc đắng đả tật, nói thật mất lòng
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Honest words can be unpleasant to hear
Literally: bitter medicine cures the disease, true words offend the heart
Where it’s used:
Used
Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora
Examples
Cậu ấy nói thật với tôi, dù biết thuốc đắng đả tật, nói thật mất lòngHe told me the truth, even though it's bitter medicine cures the disease, true words offend the heart
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on Vietnamese Wikiquote “Thành ngữ Việt Nam” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31); 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.
Common questions
What does “thuốc đắng đả tật, nói thật mất lòng” mean?
Honest words can be unpleasant to hear Literally: bitter medicine cures the disease, true words offend the heart
Is “thuốc đắng đả tật, nói thật mất lòng” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.