治丝益棼 in English zhi4 si1 yi4 fen2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) try to straighten out silk threads only to tangle them further (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically to try to help but end up making things worse

Simplified Characters

治 丝 益 棼

Traditional Characters

治 絲 益 棼

Pinyin

zhi4 si1 yi4 fen2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

治zhi4to rule 丝si1silk 益yi4surname Yi 棼fen2beams in roof