自以为得计 — “To believe one's plan is brilliant and has succeeded; to congratulate oneself on a successful scheme”
自以为得计 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be overly pleased with one's own clever scheme or calculation, often implying a misguided sense of superiority or underestimation of consequences; to fancy oneself brilliant when one's plan is actually flawed or mean-spirited”. Literally, “To believe one's plan is brilliant and has succeeded; to congratulate oneself on a successful scheme”.
自以为得计 Pronunciation and Pinyin
自以为得计 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 自以为得计
Origin and Story of 自以为得计
During the reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Shuwen, who was striving for political reform, was demoted, and Liu Zongyuan was consequently exiled. Liu's close friend, Han Yu, penned "The Epitaph for Liu Zihou."
In it, Han Yu reflected that one's true integrity and moral character are often best revealed during times of adversity. He lamented those who, while outwardly appearing friendly and even sworn brothers, would secretly abandon their allies in times of trouble, throwing stones at them when they were down, and then congratulate themselves on their own perceived cleverness, believing their schemes to be brilliant. Such behavior, he concluded, was truly lamentable.
Idioms Related to 自以为得计
Synonyms of 自以为得计
More idioms starting with 自
- zì自shàng上ér而xià下From top to bottom
- zì自xià下ér而shàng上from the bottom up
- zì自bù不dài待yán言goes without saying
- zì自bù不liàng量lì力overestimate one's own abilities
- zì自yè业zì自dé得reap what one has sown
- zì自chǎn产zì自xiāo销produce and sell one's own products
- zì自jīn今yǐ以wǎng往From now on
- zì自jīn今yǐ已hòu后From now on
- zì自jīn今yǐ已wǎng往from now on
- zì自jīn今ér而hòu后from now on
- zì自yǐ以wéi为shì是self-righteous and opinionated
- zì自yǐ以wéi为rán然self-righteous and opinionated
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Open the tool →Questions about 自以为得计
What does 自以为得计 mean?
自以为得计 (zì yǐ wéi dé jì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be overly pleased with one's own clever scheme or calculation, often implying a misguided sense of superiority or underestimation of consequences; to fancy oneself brilliant when one's plan is actually flawed or mean-spirited”.
How do you pronounce 自以为得计?
自以为得计 is pronounced zì yǐ wéi dé jì in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 自以为得计 literally mean?
Literally, 自以为得计 means “to believe one's plan is brilliant and has succeeded; to congratulate oneself on a successful scheme”. It is used to mean “to be overly pleased with one's own clever scheme or calculation, often implying a misguided sense of superiority or underestimation of consequences; to fancy oneself brilliant when one's plan is actually flawed or mean-spirited”.
Where does 自以为得计 come from?
自以为得计 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 自以为得计?
得计：计谋得逞。自以为计谋很对很好了（含贬义）。