覆辙

覆轍

fùzhé

noun #23,728

Meanings

1 the rut of an overturned cart
2 a path that led to failure
3 a previous mistake

Characters

to overturn; to cover

rut; track of a wheel

Examples

我们不能重蹈覆辙，必须吸取教训。

Wǒmen bù néng chóng dǎo fùzhé, bìxū xīqǔ jiàoxùn.

We cannot repeat the same mistakes — we must learn from the past.

历史告诉我们，要避免重蹈覆辙。

Lìshǐ gàosù wǒmen, yào bìmiǎn chóng dǎo fùzhé.

History tells us to avoid falling into the same old trap.

Tips

usage

覆辙 almost always appears in the idiom 重蹈覆辙 (chóng dǎo fùzhé) — 'to tread again in the ruts of an overturned cart' — meaning to repeat the same mistake.

memory

覆 means overturned; 辙 means cart ruts in the road. Imagine a road with deep grooves where a cart flipped — following those ruts leads to the same disaster.

Stroke Order

覆 fù

辙 zhé