自不量力

Chinese

		from; self; oneself from; self; oneself; since	not; no	to estimate one's own strength or ability
simp. and trad. (自不量力)		自	不	量力
alternative forms		不自量力

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zìbùliànglì

  (Zhuyin): ㄗˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄌㄧㄤˋ ㄌㄧˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zi⁶ bat¹ loeng⁶ lik⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zìbùliànglì [Phonetic: zìbúliànglì]
    • Zhuyin: ㄗˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄌㄧㄤˋ ㄌㄧˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: zìhbùliànglì
    • Wade–Giles: tzŭ⁴-pu⁴-liang⁴-li⁴
    • Yale: dz̀-bù-lyàng-lì
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzyhbulianqlih
    • Palladius: цзыбулянли (czybuljanli)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩⁵¹ pu⁵¹⁻³⁵ li̯ɑŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ li⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: zi⁶ bat¹ loeng⁶ lik⁶
    • Yale: jih bāt leuhng lihk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzi⁶ bat⁷ loeng⁶ lik⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ji⁶ bed¹ lêng⁶ lig⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siː²² pɐt̚⁵ lœːŋ²² lɪk̚²/

Idiom

自不量力

1. to overestimate one's capabilities; to not know one's own limitations; to be overconfident

Usage notes

The forms 自不量力 (zìbùliànglì) and 不自量力 (bùzìliànglì) are both common in Mandarin while the latter is more common in Cantonese.

Synonyms

• 夸父逐日 (kuāfùzhúrì)
• 螳臂當車／螳臂当车 (tángbìdāngchē)

Antonyms

• 量力而為／量力而为 (liànglì'érwéi)