成事不足，败事有余
Traditional form:
成事不足，敗事有餘
Pinyin (reading):
chéngshìbùzú,bàishìyǒuyú
Definitions:
- unable to accomplish anything but liable to spoil everything (idiom)
- unable to do anything right
- never make, but always mar
Characters:
- 成 - to accomplish; to become; to complete, to finish; to succeed
- 事 - affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident
- 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
- 足 - foot; to attain, to satisfy; enough
- 败 - failure; to decline, to fail, to suffer defeat
- 事 - affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident
- 有 - to have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 余 - surplus, remainder; surname
Traditional characters:
- 成 - to accomplish; to become; to complete, to finish; to succeed
- 事 - affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident
- 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
- 足 - foot; to attain, to satisfy; enough
- 敗 - failure; to decline, to fail, to suffer defeat
- 事 - affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident
- 有 - to have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 餘 - surplus, remainder, excess