Sources & editorial notes
Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.
Source record: cd-def1bfd60d2d9696. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.
Original source entry:
成事不足，敗事有餘 成事不足，败事有余 [cheng2 shi4 bu4 zu2 , bai4 shi4 you3 yu2] /unable to accomplish anything but liable to spoil everything (idiom)/unable to do anything right/never make, but always mar/Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.
Reference information
The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.
Character information
View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.
Other forms in these source records: 成事不足，敗事有餘
Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.