việc nhà thì nhác, việc chú bác siêng năng
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Neglect one's own duties but eagerly do others'
Literally: Housework is lazy, uncle's work is diligent
Where it’s used:
Used
Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora
Examples
Anh ấy việc nhà thì nhác, việc chú bác siêng năng, chẳng biết làm gì với anh ấy nữaHe neglects his own work but is diligent with his uncle's, I don't know what to do with him anymore
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 “việc nhà thì nhác, việc chú bác siêng năng” mean?
Neglect one's own duties but eagerly do others' Literally: Housework is lazy, uncle's work is diligent
Is “việc nhà thì nhác, việc chú bác siêng năng” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.