重蹈覆辙

重蹈覆轍

chóngdǎofùzhé

idiom #13,549

Meanings

1 to repeat a past mistake
2 to follow in the tracks of an overturned cart

Characters

again; to repeat

to tread; to step on

to overturn; to capsize

cart track; rut

Examples

我们不能重蹈覆辙，要吸取教训。

Wǒmen bù néng chóngdǎofùzhé, yào xīqǔ jiàoxun.

We must not repeat the same mistake; we need to learn our lesson.

他不听劝告，最终重蹈覆辙。

Tā bù tīng quàngào, zuìzhōng chóngdǎofùzhé.

He didn't listen to advice and ended up repeating the same mistake.

Tips

history

Literally: 'to step again on the tracks of an overturned cart'. From the History of the Later Han — if a cart overturned on a road, a wise driver would avoid that same rut. The idiom warns against ignoring lessons from past failures.

Stroke Order

重 zhòng

蹈 dǎo

覆 fù

辙 zhé