DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

玩火自焚

Mandarin · pinyin wán huǒ zì fén

to play with fire and get burnt (idiom); fig. to play with evil and suffer the consequences
to get one's fingers burnt

Characters in this entry

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

2–3–4–2 · wan2 huo3 zi4 fen2

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

waan4 fo2 zi6 fan4

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

(idiomatic) he who plays with fire will get burnt; sow the wind, reap the whirlwind