機關算盡 jīguānsuànjìn to exhaust every scheme Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 机关算尽太聪明，反算了卿卿性命 jīguānsuànjìntàicōngmingfǎnsuànleqīngqīngxìngmìng smart people often outsmart themselves If one is too calculating, it will lead to one's own undoing. This is a famous line from the novel [[红楼梦|紅樓夢|hong2 lou2 meng4]].