物极必反 wù jí bì fǎn

extreme leads to the opposite; too much backfires

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 50557th word

Definitions

  1. 1. when things reach an extreme, they can only move in the opposite direction (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
物 wù HSK 3
thing; object; matter
极 jí HSK 3
extremely; utmost; top
必 bì HSK 3
must; necessarily; certainly
反 fǎn HSK 4
opposite; to oppose; against