việc làm thì nhác, việc ác thì siêng
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Lazy at work, industrious at mischief — energy present, aimed wrong.
Literally: at work: slack; at wickedness: diligent
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 “việc làm thì nhác, việc ác thì siêng” mean?
Lazy at work, industrious at mischief — energy present, aimed wrong. Literally: at work: slack; at wickedness: diligent
Is “việc làm thì nhác, việc ác thì siêng” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.