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Home / Idiom / 弄巧成拙

to overreach oneself · to try to be clever and end up with egg on one's face

弄巧成拙
nòng qiǎo chéng zhuō
n+òng·4th toneq+iǎo·3rd tonech+éng·2nd tonezh+uō·1st tone
Idiom
Chain
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Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
lit. draw legs on a snake (idiom); fig. to ruin the effect by adding sth superfluous · to overdo it画蛇添足huà shé tiān zúto do more than is required (idiom); superfluous · gilding the lily多此一举duō cǐ yī jǔattempting more than one has ability for · make an attempt at a picture of a tiger and only achieve the likeness of a dog · try to draw a tiger and end up with the likeness of a dog · make a poor imitation画虎类狗huà hǔ lèi gǒulit. to cover one's ears whilst stealing a bell · to deceive oneself · to bury one's head in the sand (idiom)掩耳盗铃yǎn ěr dào língto produce the opposite of the desired result适得其反shì dé qí fǎn
Antonyms
to succeed by a lucky stroke歪打正着wāi dǎ zhèng zháo
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