"no good deed goes unpunished" meaning in English

See no good deed goes unpunished in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Forms: no good deed ever goes unpunished [alternative]
Etymology: According to the website Grammarist, there is no one origin for the phrase "let no good deed go unpunished." However, it also lists several written examples from the 20th century, starting with a 1942 phrase attributed to Walter Winchell, in which he wrote (in a column) "[It] reminds me of the line diplomats use: ‘No good deed goes unpunished in Washington.” On top of that, it lists one from Dante's "The Divine Comedy" ("love is the seed in you of every virtue/and of all acts deserving punishment."). This can be found at the website https://grammarist.com/proverb/no-good-deed-goes-unpunished/. Meanwhile, the website Quote Investigator gives several older examples of these phrases, including one from a 12th-century text that was translated into English in 1923, and which discussed a malevolent, though the website indicated that it wasn't written like it was a proverb. As well, two came from 1927 (one of which used the word "kindness" in place of "good deed") and another from 1938 ("Every good deed brings its own punishment"), which was the earliest match that website found which it considered to be strong. This can be found at the website https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/04/30/good-deed/. Head templates: {{head|en|proverb}} no good deed goes unpunished
  1. Beneficial actions often go unappreciated or are met with outright hostility or demands for further work. Wikipedia link: no good deed goes unpunished Related terms: eaten bread is soon forgotten Translations (beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.): 好心沒好報 /好心没好报 (hǎoxīn méi hǎo bào) (Chinese Mandarin), za dobrotu na žebrotu (Czech), každý dobrý skutek je po zásluze potrestán (Czech), stank voor dank (Dutch), yksikään hyvä työ ei jää rankaisematta (Finnish), kiittämättömyys on maailman palkka (Finnish), der Fluch der guten Tat (German), אין מעשה טוב שנותר ללא עונש (Hebrew), שום מעשה טוב אינו פטור מעונש (Hebrew), אין חסד שלא בא על עונשו (Hebrew), צדיק ורע לו (Hebrew), idővel minden jótett elnyeri méltó büntetését (Hungarian), fai del bene e dimenticalo (Italian), toda boa ação tem sempre uma punição (Portuguese), ни одно́ до́брое де́ло не остаётся безнака́занным (ni odnó dóbroje délo ne ostajótsja beznakázannym) (Russian), čini dobro pa se pokaj (Serbo-Croatian), Za dobrotu na žobrotu. (Slovak), dobrota je sirota (Slovene), todas las buenas obras serán castigadas [feminine] (Spanish), no hay bien sin castigo (Spanish), otack är världens lön (Swedish), hiçbir iyilik cezasız kalmaz. (english: Literally) (Turkish), làm ơn mắc oán (Vietnamese)
    Sense id: en-no_good_deed_goes_unpunished-en-proverb-k3GKz8UC Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English proverbs, English sentences, Entries with translation boxes, Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Czech translations, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Hebrew translations, Terms with Hungarian translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations, Terms with Slovak translations, Terms with Slovene translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Turkish translations, Terms with Vietnamese translations

Alternative forms

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          "hostility",
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        {
          "word": "eaten bread is soon forgotten"
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          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "hǎoxīn méi hǎo bào",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "好心沒好報 /好心没好报"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "za dobrotu na žebrotu"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "každý dobrý skutek je po zásluze potrestán"
        },
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          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "stank voor dank"
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          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "yksikään hyvä työ ei jää rankaisematta"
        },
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          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "kiittämättömyys on maailman palkka"
        },
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          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "der Fluch der guten Tat"
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        {
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "אין מעשה טוב שנותר ללא עונש"
        },
        {
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "שום מעשה טוב אינו פטור מעונש"
        },
        {
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "אין חסד שלא בא על עונשו"
        },
        {
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "צדיק ורע לו"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "idővel minden jótett elnyeri méltó büntetését"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "fai del bene e dimenticalo"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "toda boa ação tem sempre uma punição"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "ni odnó dóbroje délo ne ostajótsja beznakázannym",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "ни одно́ до́брое де́ло не остаётся безнака́занным"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "čini dobro pa se pokaj"
        },
        {
          "code": "sk",
          "lang": "Slovak",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "Za dobrotu na žobrotu."
        },
        {
          "code": "sl",
          "lang": "Slovene",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "dobrota je sirota"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "todas las buenas obras serán castigadas"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "no hay bien sin castigo"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "otack är världens lön"
        },
        {
          "code": "tr",
          "english": "Literally",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "hiçbir iyilik cezasız kalmaz."
        },
        {
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
          "word": "làm ơn mắc oán"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "no good deed goes unpunished"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "no good deed goes unpunished"
}

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      "word": "eaten bread is soon forgotten"
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "hǎoxīn méi hǎo bào",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "好心沒好報 /好心没好报"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "za dobrotu na žebrotu"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "každý dobrý skutek je po zásluze potrestán"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "stank voor dank"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "yksikään hyvä työ ei jää rankaisematta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "kiittämättömyys on maailman palkka"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "der Fluch der guten Tat"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "אין מעשה טוב שנותר ללא עונש"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "שום מעשה טוב אינו פטור מעונש"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "אין חסד שלא בא על עונשו"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "צדיק ורע לו"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "idővel minden jótett elnyeri méltó büntetését"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "fai del bene e dimenticalo"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "toda boa ação tem sempre uma punição"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "ni odnó dóbroje délo ne ostajótsja beznakázannym",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "ни одно́ до́брое де́ло не остаётся безнака́занным"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "čini dobro pa se pokaj"
    },
    {
      "code": "sk",
      "lang": "Slovak",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "Za dobrotu na žobrotu."
    },
    {
      "code": "sl",
      "lang": "Slovene",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "dobrota je sirota"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "todas las buenas obras serán castigadas"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "no hay bien sin castigo"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "otack är världens lön"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "english": "Literally",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "hiçbir iyilik cezasız kalmaz."
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.",
      "word": "làm ơn mắc oán"
    }
  ],
  "word": "no good deed goes unpunished"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-02-22 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-02-02 using wiktextract (9e2b7d3 and f2e72e5). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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