gần mực thì đen, gần đèn thì rạng

Vietnamese

Alternative forms
  • gần mực thì đen, gần đèn thì sáng

Etymology

Compare Chinese 近朱者赤，近墨者黑 (cận chu giả xích, cận mặc giả hắc).

Pronunciation
  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ɣən˨˩ mɨk̚˧˨ʔ tʰi˨˩ ʔɗɛn˧˧ ɣən˨˩ ʔɗɛn˨˩ tʰi˨˩ zaːŋ˧˨ʔ]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [ɣəŋ˦˩ mɨk̚˨˩ʔ tʰɪj˦˩ ʔɗɛŋ˧˧ ɣəŋ˦˩ ʔɗɛŋ˦˩ tʰɪj˦˩ ʐaːŋ˨˩ʔ]
  • (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ɣəŋ˨˩ mɨk̚˨˩˨ tʰɪj˨˩ ʔɗɛŋ˧˧ ɣəŋ˨˩ ʔɗɛŋ˨˩ tʰɪj˨˩ ɹaːŋ˨˩˨]

Phrase

gần mực thì đen, gần đèn thì rạng

  1. (literally) being around ink makes you black, being around a lamp makes you bright
  2. (figurative) being around bad people makes you bad, being around good people makes you good
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