防微杜渐

防微杜漸
fángwēidùjiàn
idiom #55,645

Meanings

  1. 1 to nip something in the bud
  2. 2 to stop problems before they grow
  3. 3 to take preventive action at the earliest sign

Examples

Gōngsī yào fángwēidùjiàn, yì fāxiàn wéiguī jiù yào chǔlǐ.
The company must nip problems in the bud — once any violation is found, it needs to be handled immediately.
Jiāzhǎng yào fángwēidùjiàn, jíshí jiūzhèng háizi de huài xíguàn.
Parents should stop problems early and correct their children's bad habits in time.

Tips

history
From 《·鸿》 (History of the Later Han): 「消灭」 — 'if one governs strictly and blocks trouble at its sprout, calamity will vanish.' The variant predates the current ordering but means the same.
register
Formal — common in policy writing, management, and editorials. In casual speech, people more often say or just 提前预防.

Stroke Order

fáng
wēi
jiàn