自讨苦吃 (zì tǎo kǔ chī) — to ask for trouble; to bring trouble upon oneself

Definition

Examples

• 明明知道这样做会出问题，他偏要去做，真是自讨苦吃。
  Míng míng zhī dào zhè yàng zuò huì chū wèn tí, tā piān yào qù zuò, zhēn shì zì tǎo kǔ chī.
  He knew this would cause problems, but he insisted on doing it — he was really asking for trouble.
• 投资之前不做好调查，结果亏了钱，你这是自讨苦吃。
  Tóu zī zhī qián bú zuò hǎo diào chá, jié guǒ kuī le qián, nǐ zhè shì zì tǎo kǔ chī.
  If you invest without doing your research and end up losing money, you're just asking for trouble.
• 吵架时说出伤人的话，最后自己后悔，这不是自讨苦吃吗？
  Chǎo jià shí shuō chū shāng rén de huà, zuì hòu zì jǐ hòu huǐ, zhè bú shì zì tǎo kǔ chī ma?
  Saying hurtful things during a quarrel and then regretting it — isn't that asking for trouble?