no good deed goes unpunished

English

Alternative forms

• no good deed ever goes unpunished

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Proverb

no good deed goes unpunished

1. Beneficial actions often go unappreciated or are met with outright hostility. If they are appreciated, they often lead to additional requests.

Synonyms

• eaten bread is soon forgotten

Translations

beneficial actions often go unappreciated or are met with outright hostility; if they are appreciated, they often lead to additional requests

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 好心沒好報／好心没好报 (zh) (hǎoxīn méi hǎobào), 好心没好报 (zh) (hǎoxīn méi hǎo bào)

• Czech: za dobrotu na žebrotu, každý dobrý skutek je po zásluze potrestán
• Dutch: stank voor dank
• Finnish: yksikään hyvä työ ei jää rankaisematta
• German: der Fluch der guten Tat
• Hebrew: אין מעשה טוב שנותר ללא עונש, שום מעשה טוב אינו פטור מעונש, אין חסד שלא בא על עונשו, צדיק ורע לו
• Hungarian: idővel minden jótett elnyeri méltó büntetését
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: toda boa ação tem sempre uma punição
• Russian: ни одно доброе дело не остается безнаказанным (ni odnó dóbroe dèlo ne ostaiótsya beznakàzannym)
• Serbo-Croatian: čini dobro pa se pokaj
• Slovak: Za dobrotu na žobrotu.
• Slovene: dobrota je sirota
• Spanish: todas las buenas obras serán castigadas f, no hay bien sin castigo
• Turkish: hiçbir iyilik cezasız kalmaz. (Literally)