nòng弄playqiǎo巧cleverchéng成becomezhuō拙clumsy
To try to be clever but end up making a mess of things; oversmarting oneself.
Literal meaning
play (弄) — clever (巧) — become (成) — clumsy (拙)
Origin
A classical four-character phrase warning against being too clever for one's own good.
Examples
tā他xiǎng想shuǎ耍gè个huā花zhāo招，jié结guǒ果nòng弄qiǎo巧chéng成zhuō拙。
He tried to play a trick, but it backfired.
yǒu有shí时hou候，tài太duō多de的gān干yù预fǎn反ér而huì会nòng弄qiǎo巧chéng成zhuō拙。
Sometimes, too much intervention can backfire.
Usage & nuances
Implies that an attempt to be clever or skillful resulted in the opposite effect.
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