弄巧反拙 — “To try to be clever but end up doing something foolish”
弄巧反拙 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to try to be clever but end up doing something foolish”. To outsmart oneself; to defeat one's own purpose. Literally, “Play clever and turn clumsy; make cleverness backfire into foolishness”.
弄巧反拙 Pronunciation and Pinyin
弄巧反拙 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 弄巧反拙
Idioms Related to 弄巧反拙
Synonyms of 弄巧反拙
More idioms starting with 弄
- nòng弄jiǎ假chéng成zhēn真make a feigned action become real
- nòng弄bīng兵huáng潢chí池Raise a minor, insignificant rebellion
- nòng弄kǒu口míng鸣shé舌quibble and incite trouble
- nòng弄xuān喧dǎo捣guǐ鬼play tricks and engage in underhand schemes
- nòng弄zuǐ嘴nòng弄shé舌gossip and stir up trouble
- nòng弄qiǎo巧chéng呈guāi乖play petty tricks
- nòng弄yǐng影tuán团fēng风restless and disoriented
- nòng弄xìng性shàng尚qì气act impulsively, prone to losing temper
- nòng弄wén文qīng轻wǔ武prioritize intellect over martial arts
- nòng弄jīn斤cāo操fǔ斧meticulously refine or over-embellish a work
- nòng弄fǔ斧bān班mén门show off before an expert
Recommended tools
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →Questions about 弄巧反拙
What does 弄巧反拙 mean?
弄巧反拙 (nòng qiǎo fǎn zhuō) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to try to be clever but end up doing something foolish”.
How do you pronounce 弄巧反拙?
弄巧反拙 is pronounced nòng qiǎo fǎn zhuō in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 弄巧反拙 literally mean?
Literally, 弄巧反拙 means “Play clever and turn clumsy; make cleverness backfire into foolishness”. It is used to mean “to try to be clever but end up doing something foolish”.
What is the Chinese definition of 弄巧反拙?
本想耍弄聪明，结果做了蠢事。同“弄巧成拙”。