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Home / Idiom / 适得其反

to produce the opposite of the desired result

适得其反
shì dé qí fǎn
sh+ì·4th toned+é·2nd toneq+í·2nd tonef+ǎn·3rd tone
Idiom
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Examples1 available
... Otherwise it is (or will be) hard to avoid a counterproductive situation.
...不然难免会有适得其反的情况出现。
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
things turn out contrary to the way one wishes (idiom)事与愿违shì yǔ yuàn wéito act in a way that defeats one's purpose (idiom)南辕北辙nán yuán běi zhétoo far is as bad as not enough (idiom, from the Analects)过犹不及guò yóu bù jílit. 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 overreach oneself · to try to be clever and end up with egg on one's face弄巧成拙nòng qiǎo chéng zhuōpretense that turns into reality (idiom); to play at make-believe, but accidentally make it true弄假成真nòng jiǎ chéng zhēn
Antonyms
to have one's wish fulfilled如愿以偿rú yuàn yǐ cháng(idiom) to be everything one could wish for尽如人意jìn rú rén yì