Chinese word dictionary

作茧自缚

zuò jiǎn zì fù · to spin a cocoon around oneself (idiom); enmeshed in a trap of one's own devising; hoist by his own petard

Practice word

Word information

Simplified作茧自缚

Traditional作繭自縛

Pinyinzuò jiǎn zì fù

Part of speechDictionary

HSK 3.0Not listed

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

作zuò

to make; to write, to compose; to act, to perform

茧jiǎn

cocoon; callus, blister

自zì

self; private, personal; from

缚fù

to tie, to bind

How to learn 作茧自缚

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

工作gōngzuò

to work; (of a machine) to operate; job; work; task; CL:個|个[ge4],份[fen4],項|项[xiang4]

作为zuò wéi

one's conduct; deed; activity; accomplishment; achievement

自己zìjǐ

oneself; (attributive) one's own

工作日gōngzuòrì

workday; working day; weekday

来自láizì

to come from (a place); From: (in email header)

自行车zìxíngchē

bicycle; bike; CL:輛|辆[liang4]