什麼都不要做比做錯了好。

It's better to do nothing than to do something poorly.

Source: Tatoeba

Sentence Composition

1 什麼 shénme
  1. what?
  2. something; anything
=2 都 Dū surname Du
=2 都 dōu
  1. all; both; entirely
  2. (used for emphasis) even
  3. already
  4. (not) at all
=2 都 dū
  1. capital city
  2. metropolis
3 不要 bùyào don't!; must not
4 做 zuò
  1. to make; to produce
  2. to write; to compose
  3. to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc)
  4. (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, friends etc)
  5. (of a thing) to serve as; to be used for
  6. to assume (an air or manner)
5 比做 bǐzuò
  1. to liken to
  2. to compare to
=6 錯 Cuò surname Cuo
=6 錯 cuò
  1. mistake
  2. wrong
  3. bad
  4. interlocking
  5. complex
  6. to grind
  7. to polish
  8. to alternate
  9. to stagger
  10. to miss
  11. to let slip
  12. to evade
  13. to inlay with gold or silver
=6 錯 cù
  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 措 (cuò, “to abandon; to cease; to reject”)
  2. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 措 (cuò, “to place; to carry out”)
  3. alternative form of 措 (cuò, “to abandon; to cease; to reject”)
  4. alternative form of 措 (cuò, “to place; to carry out”)
=6 錯 xī
  1. (chemistry, obsolete) Alternative name for 鈰／铈 (shì, “cerium”).
  2. Alternative name for 鈰／铈 (shì, “cerium”).
=7 了 le
  1. (completed action marker)
  2. (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now)
  3. (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)
=7 了 liǎo
  1. to finish
  2. (used with 得 dé or 不 bù after a verb to express (im)possibility, as in 忘不了 wàngbuliǎo "cannot forget")
  3. (literary) (usually followed by a negative such as 無 wú or 不 bù) completely (not); entirely (not); (not) in the least
  4. to understand clearly (variant of 瞭 liǎo)
=7 了 liǎo
  1. (of eyes) bright
  2. clear-sighted
  3. to understand clearly
=7 了 liào unofficial variant of 瞭 liào
=8 好 hǎo
  1. good
  2. appropriate; proper
  3. all right!
  4. (before a verb) easy to
  5. (before a verb) good to
  6. (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so
  7. (verb complement indicating completion)
  8. (of two people) close; on intimate terms
  9. (after a personal pronoun) hello
=8 好 hào to be fond of; to have a tendency to; to be prone to