作茧自缚 zuò jiǎn zì fù

trap oneself; cause one's own trouble

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 27811th word

Definitions

  1. 1. to spin a cocoon around oneself (idiom); enmeshed in a trap of one's own devising
  2. 2. hoist by his own petard

Characters

Character Meaning
作 zuò HSK 1
to do; to write or compose; writings or works
茧 jiǎn
cocoon; callus; variant of 繭jiǎn
自 zì HSK 3
self; oneself; from
缚 fù HSK 6
to bind; to tie; Taiwan pr. fú