开倒车

開倒車

kāidàochē

idiom #87,747

Meanings

1 to drive in reverse
2 to go backwards; to move in the wrong direction
3 to reverse progress

Characters

to drive, operate

reverse, backward

Examples

HSK 5

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.

HSK 6

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.

HSK 7-9

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.

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 dǎo

车 chē