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过犹不及

guò yóu bù jí

too much is as bad as too little

Character by character

过guò
overshoot
犹yóu
like
不bù
not
及jí
reach

Example

锻炼是好事,但过犹不及。
Exercise is good, but you can overdo it.

Tone: neutral.

Usage and origin

From the Analects: overshooting is as bad as falling short.

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