本末倒置

běnmò-dàozhì

idiom #39,945

Meanings

1 to put the cart before the horse
2 to confuse cause and effect
3 to reverse priorities

Characters

root; fundamental

upside-down; reversed

Examples

HSK 4

不好好学习却花钱买设备，这是本末倒置。

Bù hǎohǎo xuéxí què huāqián mǎi shèbèi, zhè shì běnmòdàozhì.

Buying fancy gear instead of actually studying is putting the cart before the horse.

HSK 6

为了赚钱而牺牲健康，简直是本末倒置。

Wèile zhuànqián ér xīshēng jiànkāng, jiǎnzhí shì běnmòdàozhì.

Sacrificing your health to make money is completely backwards.

Tips

history

From the Jin-dynasty 《绥德州新学记》: 「非知治之审，则未尝不本末倒置」 - 'without a careful grasp of governance, root and branch will be upended.' 本 ('root') and 末 ('branch tip') come from the tree metaphor for priority ordering throughout classical Chinese thought.

memory

Think of a tree flipped upside-down: 本 (the root, what matters) is now on top and 末 (the branch tips, trivial details) dug into the ground - that's exactly backwards.

Stroke Order

本 běn

末 mò

倒 dǎo

置 zhì