弄巧反拙 (lung6 haau2 faan2 zyut3) — wanting to show off at first but end up… in Cantonese

lungˍ₆弄haauˊ²巧faanˊ²反zyut˗₃拙

Mandarin Pinyin: nong4 qiao3 fan3 zhuo1

Meaning of 弄巧反拙

nounwanting to show off at first but end up doing stupid things

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keoiˏ₅佢taai˗₃太gapˉ¹急zeon3,進，git˗₃結gwoˊ²果nungˍ₆弄haauˊ²巧faanˊ²反zwat1.拙。

He was too hasty, and it backfired.

siuˊ²小samˉ¹心di1,啲，mˎ₄唔houˊ²好nungˍ₆弄haauˊ²巧faanˊ²反zwat1.拙。

Be careful, don't make it worse.

ngoˏ₅我si˗₃試haaˏ₅吓zing2,整，dimˊ²點ziˉ¹知nungˍ₆弄haauˊ²巧faanˊ²反zwat1.拙。

I tried to fix it, but it backfired.

niˉ¹呢go˗₃個gai˗₃計zai2,仔，houˊ²好jiˍ₆易nungˍ₆弄haauˊ²巧faanˊ²反zwat1.拙。

This plan is prone to backfiring.

keoiˏ₅佢soengˊ²想bongˉ¹幫sau2,手，dimˊ²點ziˉ¹知nungˍ₆弄haauˊ²巧faanˊ²反zwat1.拙。

He wanted to help, but ended up making things worse.

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