中2014
No zuo no die
If you had not courted trouble, you would be fine.
Meaning
It means trouble brought on yourself by deliberately reckless show-off behavior. The tone is mocking and cautionary, used among peers rather than in formal speech.
Origin
The Chinese bu zuo bu si was already popular on Chinese boards by around 2012 with disputed anime and dialect roots. It reportedly spread abroad when No zuo no die was posted to Urban Dictionary in 2014, keeping pinyin zuo for acting foolishly for attention. The original coiner is unknown.
How it's used
It is used as a punchline after failed stunts, pranks, or self-created drama. Grammatically it is a fixed interjection that does not inflect, though Chinese speakers sometimes verb zuo.
Example
You microwaved foil for views and killed the microwave, no zuo no die.
Variants & related
Variants include No Zuo No Die and no zuo no die why you try. Related forms are fa zuo and zuo yao, close in spirit to play stupid games win stupid prizes.
Common misunderstandings
Do not read die as a literal death wish, it usually means embarrassment or hassle. Do not confuse this zuo with the neutral verb to do, and avoid it for serious misfortune where it sounds cruel.