弄巧成拙 try to be clever and end up making a mess of things
Explanation
这个成语比喻做事过于聪明,反而弄巧成拙,事与愿违,结果反而比不聪明还糟糕。
This idiom is used to describe someone who tries to be too clever and ends up making a mess of things.
Origin Story
很久以前,有一个名叫李明的书生,他从小就聪明伶俐,学习刻苦,大家都夸他有学问。一天,李明去参加科举考试,他为了展现自己的聪明才智,在试卷上故意写了一些奇奇怪怪的字,以为这样会让考官刮目相看。结果,考官们看不懂他的字,反而认为他是在胡闹,最终李明落榜了。李明回家后,家人问他考试结果,他羞愧地说:“我以为自己很聪明,故意写一些怪字,结果弄巧成拙,反而落榜了。”这个故事告诉我们,做事要脚踏实地,不要耍小聪明,否则就会弄巧成拙,得不偿失。
A long time ago, there was a scholar named Li Ming. He was smart and diligent from a young age, and he studied hard. Everyone praised him for his knowledge. One day, Li Ming went to take the imperial examination. To show his intelligence, he deliberately wrote some strange characters on the test paper, thinking that this would impress the examiners. As a result, the examiners couldn't understand his characters and thought he was just fooling around. In the end, Li Ming failed the exam. When he went home, his family asked him about the results of the exam. He said with shame, “I thought I was very smart and deliberately wrote some strange characters. But it turned out to be counterproductive, and I failed.” This story teaches us that we should be down-to-earth in our work and not play smart. Otherwise, we will only make mistakes and lose more than we gain.
Usage
“弄巧成拙”通常用来批评那些做事过于聪明,反而弄巧成拙的人。它可以用来形容那些因为过度自信而导致失败的人,也可以用来形容那些因为过度追求完美而导致失败的人。
“Nong Qiao Cheng Zhuo” is often used to criticize people who are trying to be too clever and end up making things worse. It can be used to describe people who fail due to excessive self-confidence or those who fail due to excessive pursuit of perfection.
Examples
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他以为自己很聪明,结果弄巧成拙,把事情搞得更糟糕了。
ta yi wei zi ji hen cong ming, jie guo nong qiao cheng zhuo, ba shi qing gao de geng zao gao le.
He thought he was smart, but he ended up making things worse.
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别以为你很聪明,弄巧成拙,得不偿失!
bie yi wei ni hen cong ming, nong qiao cheng zhuo, de bu chang shi!
Don't think you're smart, you'll only end up shooting yourself in the foot!
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他为了吸引眼球,故意弄巧成拙,反而弄得自己很尴尬。
ta wei le xi yin yan qiu, gu yi nong qiao cheng zhuo, fan er nong de zi ji hen gan ga.
He tried to get attention by making a fool of himself, but it only made him look awkward.