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南辕北辙 (nán yuán-běi zhé) — to act in a way that completely contradicts one's own purpose; self-defeating; counterproductive

Definition

Idiom for acting completely against your own goal — the more effort you put in, the further you get from the result. Literally: heading south with the carriage, going north.

phrase
to act in a way that completely contradicts one's own purposeself-defeatingcounterproductive

Examples

  • ，南辕北辙。
    Tā pīn mìng gōng zuò què bú gù jiā tíng, jiù xiàng nán yuán-běi zhé yí yàng.
    He works hard but neglects his family—like being completely self-defeating.
  • ，南辕北辙。
    Rú guǒ yíng xiāo fāng xiàng yǔ kè hù xū qiú xiāng bèi, jiù shì nán yuán-běi zhé.
    If the marketing direction goes against customer needs, that's counterproductive.
  • ，南辕北辙。
    Tā wèi le shěng qián ér chī huài le shēn tǐ, zhēn shì nán yuán-běi zhé.
    He ruined his health to save money — truly an act that defeats his own purpose.

Origin

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 南 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 轅; 辕 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcarriage
Sound part声符shēngfú
袁
袁yuán轅yuán
Same sound today

The traditional form 轅 uses 車, a carriage, with 袁 for its sound; the simplified 辕 is a later shorthand.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The form 北 shows two people standing back to back. It originally meant 'back'.

Open 北 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 轍; 辙 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūwagon
Sound part声符shēngfú
徹
徹chè轍zhé
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 轍 combines 車 (wagon) with a sound component 徹, and the meaning is wagon tracks; the simplified 辙 is a shorthand.

Open 辙 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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