tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ
lit. to try to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it (idiom)
fig. to try to gain an advantage only to end up worse off; to go for wool and come back shorn
偷
tōu
to steal
鸡
jī
variant of 雞|鸡[ji1]
不
bù
no; not so
成
chéng
short name for Chengdu 成都[Cheng2 du1]
蚀
shí
to nibble away at sth
把
bǎ
to hold; to grasp
米
mǐ
uncooked rice