Definition
This chengyu (four-character idiom) describes a situation where someone's cleverness backfires — they outsmart themselves by overestimating their intelligence or relying too much on tricks. It's used as a warning against overconfidence in one's own wit. You can use it in contexts like work, exams, or any decision-making where a smart person makes a foolish mistake due to arrogance.
f.e.
to be caught by one's own clevernesscleverness may overreach itself
Examples
- ，聪明反被聪明误，。Tā zǒng juéde zìjǐ hěn cōngmíng, jiéguǒ cōng míng fǎn bèi cōng míng wù, bǎ shìqíng gǎo zá le.He always thinks he's very smart, but in the end his cleverness backfired and he messed things up.
- ，，聪明反被聪明误。Zài kǎoshì zhōng, tā yīnwèi tài zìxìn ér cūxīn, zhēn shì cōng míng fǎn bèi cōng míng wù.During the exam, he was careless because he was too confident — truly a case of cleverness overreaching itself.
- ，聪明反被聪明误。Zuò shēngyì bù néng zhǐ kào xiǎo cōngmíng, fǒuzé róngyì cōng míng fǎn bèi cōng míng wù.In business, you can't rely only on petty tricks, or you'll easily be caught by your own cleverness.
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