chéng
shì
,
bài
shì
yǒu

idiom
common

Meaning of 成事不足,败事有余

成事不足,败事有余 means lacking the ability to accomplish anything, but more than enough to ruin things; incompetent and counterproductive. Pronounced chéng shì bù zú , bài shì yǒu yú.

  • lacking the ability to accomplish anything, but more than enough to ruin things; incompetent and counterproductive

Definitions & Examples

zhēn
shì
chéng
shì
 
bài
shì
yǒu
 
jiāo
gěi
bàn
de
shì
quán
gǎo
le
 

He truly is incompetent—everything entrusted to him ended up ruined.

Zhè
ge
rén
néng
wěi
zhòng
rèn
 
xiàng
chéng
shì
 
bài
shì
yǒu
 

This person cannot be entrusted with important tasks; he has always been more trouble than he's worth.

men
yào
de
shì
zhù
shǒu
 
shì
chéng
shì
 
bài
shì
yǒu
de
lěi
zhuì
 

We want capable assistants, not burdens who only make things worse.