出頭的椽子先爛

1. • lit. rafters that jut out rot first (idiom)
2. • fig. anyone who makes himself conspicuous will be targeted for attack

Character by character

• 出(chū)go out
• 頭(tóu)head
• 的(de)marks possession and modification
• 椽(chuán)beam
• 子(zi)noun suffix, as in 椅子 yǐzi "chair"
• 先(xiān)beforehand
• 爛(làn)soft