no good deed goes unpunished

proverb

Actions of generosity often go unappreciated or are met with outright hostility or demands for further work.

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Meanings

proverb

alternative no good deed ever goes unpunished

  1. Actions of generosity often go unappreciated or are met with outright hostility or demands for further work.

Origin

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/.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 好心沒好報 /好心没好报
  • 好心沒好報 /好心没好报 (hǎoxīn méi hǎo bào)beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Czech za dobrotu na žebrotu, každý dobrý skutek je po zásluze potrestán
  • za dobrotu na žebrotubeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
  • každý dobrý skutek je po zásluze potrestánbeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Danish utak er verdens løn
  • utak er verdens lønbeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Dutch stank voor dank
  • stank voor dankbeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Finnish yksikään hyvä työ ei jää rankaisematta, kiittämättömyys on maailman palkka
  • yksikään hyvä työ ei jää rankaisemattabeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
  • kiittämättömyys on maailman palkkabeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
German der Fluch der guten Tat
  • der Fluch der guten Tatbeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Hebrew אין מעשה טוב שנותר ללא עונש, שום מעשה טוב אינו פטור מעונש
  • אין מעשה טוב שנותר ללא עונשbeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
  • שום מעשה טוב אינו פטור מעונשbeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
  • אין חסד שלא בא על עונשוbeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
  • צדיק ורע לוbeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Hungarian idővel minden jótett elnyeri méltó büntetését
  • idővel minden jótett elnyeri méltó büntetésétbeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Italian fai del bene e dimenticalo
  • fai del bene e dimenticalobeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Portuguese toda boa ação tem sempre uma punição
  • toda boa ação tem sempre uma puniçãobeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Russian ни одно́ до́брое де́ло не остаётся безнака́занным
  • ни одно́ до́брое де́ло не остаётся безнака́занным (ni odnó dóbroje délo ne ostajótsja beznakázannym)beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Slovak Za dobrotu na žobrotu.
  • Za dobrotu na žobrotu.beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Spanish todas las buenas obras serán castigadas, no hay bien sin castigo
  • todas las buenas obras serán castigadasbeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
  • no hay bien sin castigobeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
  • ninguna buena acción queda impunebeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Swedish otack är världens lön
  • otack är världens lönbeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Turkish hiçbir iyilik cezasız kalmaz.
  • hiçbir iyilik cezasız kalmaz.beneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Vietnamese làm ơn mắc oán
  • làm ơn mắc oánbeneficial actions often go unappreciated etc.
Cite this entry
APA

no good deed goes unpunished. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20good%20deed%20goes%20unpunished

MLA

“no good deed goes unpunished.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20good%20deed%20goes%20unpunished. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “no good deed goes unpunished,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20good%20deed%20goes%20unpunished.

Source: no good deed goes unpunished on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.