偷鸡不成蚀把米

Traditional: 偷雞不成蝕把米

tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ

Dictionary entry

lit. to try to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it (idiom)

What does 偷鸡不成蚀把米 mean?

偷鸡不成蚀把米 (tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ) has the following dictionary meaning.

1lit. to try to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it (idiom)

2fig. to try to gain an advantage only to end up worse off

3to go for wool and come back shorn

Character breakdown

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偷tōuto steal · to pilfer 鸡jīfowl · chicken 不bùno; not so · (bound form) not; un-成Chéngsurname Cheng · short name for Chengdu 成都[Cheng2 du1]蚀shíto nibble away at sth · to eat into 把bǎto hold; to grasp · to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate 米Mǐsurname Mi

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How to pronounce 偷鸡不成蚀把米

偷鸡不成蚀把米

tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.