Dictionary › 本末倒置

本末倒置

běn mò dào zhì

4-character word

What 本末倒置 means

1. lit. to invert root and branch (idiom); fig. confusing cause and effect
2. to stress the incidental over the fundamental
3. to put the cart before the horse

The characters in 本末倒置

• 本běn(bound form) root; stem; (bound form) origin; source; (bound form) one's own; this
• 末mòtip; end; final stage
• 倒dǎoto fall; to collapse; to lie horizontally; to fail; to go bankrupt; to overthrow
• 置zhìto install; to place; to put

Example sentences

• 不要把本末倒置。
  Bù yào bǎ běnmòdàozhì.
  Don't put the cart before the horse.