追本溯源

zhuīběn-sùyuán

idiom

Meanings

HSK 4

遇到问题要追本溯源，找到真正的原因。

Yùdào wèntí yào zhuīběn-sùyuán, zhǎodào zhēnzhèng de yuányīn.

When you hit a problem, trace it back to its source and find the real cause.

HSK 7-9

追本溯源，这个习俗来自古代的祭祀活动。

Zhuīběn-sùyuán, zhège xísú láizì gǔdài de jìsì huódòng.

Traced back to its origins, this custom comes from ancient sacrificial rites.

memory

Two pictures of going back: 追 "chase" the 本 "root", and 溯 "go upstream" to the 源 "source". 追根溯源 means exactly the same.

追 zhuī

本 běn

溯 sù

源 yuán