倒果为因

倒果為因

dàoguǒ-wéiyīn

idiom

Meanings

1 to mistake the effect for the cause
2 to put the cart before the horse
3 to reverse cause and effect

Characters

reverse / invert

result / effect

to treat as / regard as

Examples

HSK 6

把成功归于运气是倒果为因的看法。

Bǎ chénggōng guīyú yùnqì shì dàoguǒ-wéiyīn de kànfǎ.

Crediting success to luck mistakes the effect for the cause.

HSK 7-9

你这样推论是倒果为因。

Nǐ zhèyàng tuīlùn shì dàoguǒ-wéiyīn.

Your reasoning has cause and effect reversed.

Tips

history

The phrase appears in 鲁迅's essay 《科学史教篇》 ('Lessons from the History of Science', collected in 《坟》), criticizing those who praise scientific results while ignoring the rigorous process that produced them - 倒果为因，莫此为甚 ('a more extreme reversal of cause and effect there could not be').

memory

Read literally: 倒 (reverse) + 果 (fruit/effect) + 为 (as) + 因 (cause) - 'turn the effect into the cause'.

Stroke Order

倒 dǎo

果 guǒ

为 wéi

因 yīn