聰明反被聰明誤
简 聪明反被聪明误 · 繁 聰明反被聰明誤Meanings
- (idiom) a clever person may become the victim of his own ingenuity; cleverness may overreach itself; too smart for one's own good
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Mandarin tones
1–2–3–4–1–2–4 · cong1 ming2 fan3 bei4 cong1 ming2 wu4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
聰明反被聰明誤 · find source passages ↗ · 聪明反被聪明误 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
cung1 ming4 faan2 bei6 cung1 ming4 ng6
Cantonese word readings for 聰明反被聰明誤. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
proverb
- Cleverness may overreach itself; A wise man can be ruined by his own wisdom; Clever people may be victims of their own cleverness; Every man has a fool in his sleeve.
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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