自食恶果

自食惡果
zìshí-èguǒ
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to eat the bitter fruit of one's own actions
  2. 2 to suffer the consequences of one's own deeds
  3. 3 to stew in one's own juice

Examples

HSK 5
Gōngsī hūshì zhìliàng wèntí, rújīn zìshí-èguǒ.
The company ignored quality issues and is now reaping what it sowed.
HSK 7-9
Tā zuò'è duōduān, zuìzhōng zìshí-èguǒ.
He committed many evils, and in the end suffered the consequences himself.

Tips

culture
Rooted in the Buddhist law of karma 因果报应 - you 'eat the fruit' of the seeds you planted. The mirror-positive idiom is 自食其果 in its neutral sense, or 善有善报 (good begets good).
memory
自 (self) + 食 (eat) + 恶 (evil) + 果 (fruit) = 'eat the rotten fruit you grew yourself.' English equivalent: 'reap what you sow.'

Stroke Order

自 zì
食 shí
恶 è
果 guǒ