tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ
Traditional: 偷雞不成蝕把米
偷鸡不成蚀把米 (tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ) is a Chinese word meaning “lit. to try to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it (idiom); fig. to try to gain an advantage only to end up worse off; to go for wool and come back shorn”.
Meanings
- 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