Vô cổ bất thành kim

🎙 Say it

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Without a base, nothing can be achieved

Literally: no base not become metal

Examples

Dù có tài giỏi đến mấy, mà vô cổ bất thành kimNo matter how talented you are, without a foundation, you can't achieve anything

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Headword listed in the vdict.com proverb dictionary index (discovery source; headword only — no source content copied). Entered as candidate 2026-08-05; definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-08-08; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “Vô cổ bất thành kim” mean?

Without a base, nothing can be achieved Literally: no base not become metal

Is “Vô cổ bất thành kim” formal or informal?

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

👁 Views 0 today 0 past 7 days 0 this month 0 all time