机关算尽太聪明，反算了卿卿性命
jī​guān​suàn​jìn​tài​cōng​ming​fǎn​suàn​le​qīng​qīng​xìng​mìng

smart people often outsmart themselves

  1. 机关算尽 機關算盡 jī​guān​suàn​jìn
    to exhaust every scheme
    Used to describe someone who has used up every possible clever plot or scheme; to rack one's brains in a calculating way.
  2. 太 tài adverb
    too
    excessively; more than enough; too much; used before an adjective or verb to indicate an extreme degree
  3. 聪明 聰明 cōng​ming adjective
    intelligent
    intelligent; bright; clever
  4. ， fǎn
    non-Chinese
  5. 反 fǎn adverbconjunction
    on the contrary
    instead; on the contrary; equivalent to 反而 fǎn'ér or 反倒 fǎn​dào
  6. 算 suàn
    to plot against
    to plot against; to scheme to harm someone
  7. 了 le particle
    [aspect marker]
    Placed after a verb or adjective to indicate the completion of an action or a change in state.
  8. 卿 qīng
    reduplication
    [term of endearment]
    (bound form) a term of endearment used between spouses, lovers, or close friends
  9. 性命 xìng​mìng noun
    life
    life (of humans or animals); physical existence