cha nào, con nấy
Like father, like son.
Top 100 Vietnamese sayings · 100 câu tục ngữ – thành ngữ Việt phải biết 83
The hundred Vietnamese proverbs and idioms every learner and heritage speaker should know.
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cháy nhà mới ra mặt chuột
Only when something bad happens; the skeleton(s) in the closet will be revealed.
chó sủa là chó không cắn
Translation and English equivalent: Barking dogs seldom bite.
con có cha như nhà có nóc
"children need their fathers to be complete"
con nhà tông không giống lông cũng giống cánh
the apple does not fall far from the tree
cái khó ló cái khôn
Close to the English saying: “Adversity is the mother of wisdom.”.
cái nết đánh chết cái đẹp
Close to the English saying: “Handsome is as handsome does.”.
còn nước còn tát
(as long as) there's water left, it can be drained out
có chí thì nên
"If you are sufficiently determined to achieve something, then you will find a way of doing so.".
có công mài sắt, có ngày nên kim
Persistent effort will eventually succeed — keep grinding and the goal will be reached.
có mới nới cũ
To neglect or abandon the old (friend, partner, possession) as soon as something new arrives.
có thực mới vực được đạo
Having food (energy/money) is the prerequisite to achieve anything.
cõng rắn cắn gà nhà
To bring in an outsider or enemy who then harms your own people — inviting the wolf into the house.
cùng tắc biến, biến tắc thông
When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
của thiên, trả địa
Close to the English saying: “Ill gotten, ill spent. (Mr. B Lam).”.
dĩ hoà vi quý
Making peace is treasured.
gieo gió gặt bão
We reap as we sow.
gần mực thì đen, gần đèn thì sáng
You take on the character of the company you keep — bad company corrupts, good company uplifts.
không thầy đố mày làm nên
without a teacher, I dare you to do or make anything of note
liệu cơm gắp mắm
to be mindful of one's surroundings and circumstances to choose the right options
luật vua thua lệ làng
In practice, local custom outweighs distant formal authority — the village’s rules beat the king’s law.
lá lành đùm lá rách
the strong protect the weak
lời nói là bạc, im lặng là vàng
Speech is silver, silence is gold.
lửa thử vàng, gian nan thử sức
fire tests gold, hardship tests strength
mèo khen mèo dài đuôi
cats who boast of their own long tails
mèo mù vớ cá rán
To get lucky far beyond one’s ability or effort — undeserved windfall.
mất bò mới lo làm chuồng
To take precautions only after the loss has already happened.
một cây làm chẳng nên non, ba cây chụm lại nên hòn núi cao
One person alone achieves little; people united can accomplish great things.
một giọt máu đào hơn ao nước lã
Close to the English saying: “Blood is thicker than water.”.
một nụ cười bằng mười thang thuốc bổ
Laughter is the best medicine.
nhập gia tuỳ tục
when in Rome, do as the Romans do
nuôi ong tay áo
to protect or raise someone who could later betray or turn against you; to nourish a viper in one's bosom
nói có sách, mách có chứng
Claims must be backed by sources and accusations by evidence — speak with proof.
năng nhặt chặt bị
pick up stuff without fail and you'll get a full bag in no time
nước chảy đá mòn
Close to the English saying: “Constant dripping wears the stone.”.
nước đến chân mới nhảy
To put things off until the situation is urgent, and only act at the last possible moment.
phép vua thua lệ làng
even the monarch's law loses to a village's norms
phòng bệnh hơn chữa bệnh
it's better to prevent diseases than to wait for them to happen and then treat them
qua cầu rút ván
To discard the people who helped you once you no longer need them; to destroy the way back after getting what you wanted.
suy bụng ta ra bụng người
to project (to assume qualities or mindsets in others based on one's own)
tham thì thâm
Close to the English saying: “Grasp all, lose all.”.
thuận vợ thuận chồng, tát Biển Đông cũng cạn
a married couple that lives together in harmony can achieve larger goals
thương người như thể thương thân
to love others as much as oneself
thả con săn sắt, bắt con cá rô
To give up something small in order to gain something bigger — a small bait for a large catch.
thất bại là mẹ thành công
Close to the English saying: “Failure is the mother of success.”.
tiên học lễ, hậu học văn
learn manners first, then learn literature
treo đầu dê, bán thịt chó
To advertise one thing but deliver another — deceptive marketing or bait-and-switch.
trăm nghe không bằng một thấy
Hearing about something a hundred times is not worth seeing it once — direct experience beats hearsay.
vung tay quá trán
to overdo something, especially to overspend or to squander
xa mặt cách lòng
Absence weakens affection — when people no longer see each other, their hearts drift apart.
ác giả ác báo
what goes around comes around; you reap what you sow; as you sow, so shall you reap.
ăn cháo đá bát
To be ungrateful — to turn against or abandon the very person who helped you.
Đi một ngày đàng, học một sàng khôn
Travelling forms a young man.
Đi với bụt mặc áo cà sa, đi với ma mặc áo giấy
Pay a man back in the same coin.
Đèn nhà ai nấy sáng
Half the world not know how the other half lives.
đàn gảy tai trâu
To waste fine words, art, or wisdom on someone incapable of appreciating them.
đói cho sạch, rách cho thơm
One must remain decent and honorable in spite of hardship.
được voi đòi tiên
Given something great, to immediately demand something even greater — insatiable escalating demands.
đứng núi này trông núi nọ
Never satisfied with what you have; always thinking somewhere or something else is better.
Ở hiền gặp lành
One good turn deserves another.