Phrase guide

a good deed is its own reward

proverb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

proverb

Meaning 1

One should not expect a reward for good deeds, but should perform them merely for the satisfaction of doing so.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 贈人玫瑰,手有餘香 /赠人玫瑰 — one should not expect a reward for good deeds
  • Chinese Mandarin: 手有余香 (zèng rén méiguī, shǒu yǒu yúxiāng) — one should not expect a reward for good deeds
  • Finnish: työ tekijäänsä kiittää — one should not expect a reward for good deeds
  • Hebrew: שכר מצווה מצווה (S'char mitzvah mizvah) — one should not expect a reward for good deeds