开倒车

開倒車

kāidàochē

idiom #87,747

Meanings

1 to drive in reverse (lit.)
2 to go backwards; to move in the wrong direction
3 to reverse progress

Characters

to drive, operate

reverse, backward

Examples

要顺应历史潮流，不能开倒车。

Yào shùnyìng lìshǐ cháoliú, bùnéng kāidàochē.

We should go with the tide of history, not drive in reverse.

这项政策简直是在开倒车。

Zhè xiàng zhèngcè jiǎnzhí shì zài kāidàochē.

This policy is nothing short of moving backwards.

改革不能开倒车，回头就糟了。

Gǎigé bùnéng kāidàochē, huítóu jiù zāo le.

Reform can't reverse course — the moment it turns back, things go bad.

Tips

usage

Beyond literal reversing, the figurative sense is the common one — a common fixture in editorial writing and political commentary for "reactionary" moves.

Stroke Order

开 kāi

倒 dào

车 chē