| 贪多嚼不烂 |
tān duō jiáo bù làn |
to bite off more than one can chew (idiom) |
| 贪 |
tān |
to have a voracious desire for / to covet / greedy / corrupt |
| 多 |
duō |
many; much; more; a lot of / too many; in excess / (after a numeral) ... odd / how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]) / (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 嚼 |
jiáo |
to chew / also pr. [jue2] |
| 嚼 |
jiào |
used in 倒嚼 |
| 不 |
bù |
no; not so / (bound form) not; un- |
| 烂 |
làn |
soft; mushy / well-cooked and soft / to rot; to decompose / rotten / worn out / chaotic; messy / utterly; thoroughly / crappy; bad |