tōu​jī​bù​zháo​fǎn​zhé​yī​bǎ​mǐ

to go for wool and come back shorn

  1. to steal
    to steal; to pilfer; to snatch something secretly; to commit theft
  2. chicken
    chicken; fowl; bird of the Galliformes order typically raised for its meat or eggs
  3. unsuccessful
    (literary) To be unsuccessful; to fail in an attempt, such as failing to find a contact or failing to achieve a desired outcome.
  4. fǎn adverbconjunction
    on the contrary
    instead; on the contrary; equivalent to 反而 fǎn'ér or 反倒 fǎn​dào
  5. zhé verbnoun
    to suffer loss
    to suffer a loss; to lose; to be defeated or humiliated
  6. 一把 yī​bǎ measure wordnumeral
    a handful
    a handful; the amount one can hold or grab in one hand
  7. noun
    rice
    uncooked rice; paddy rice; food in general