📖 Meaning
Literally placing the root above the branches and the branches below. It is a metaphor for reversing the order of importance, treating the secondary as primary and the primary as secondary.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Jin dynasty text 'New Record of the School in Suide Prefecture' (绥德州新学记) by an anonymous author. The original passage states that without a careful understanding of governance, one inevitably inverts root and branch. The metaphor uses the image of a tree: the root (本) is the foundation and the tip (末) is the consequence, and confusing their order leads to failure in any endeavor.
💡 Example Usage
做事情要分清主次，切不可本末倒置。
When doing things, you must distinguish between what is primary and secondary, and never put the cart before the horse.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 本末倒置
- Pinyin: běn mò dào zhì
- Literal Translation: root, tip, inverted, placed
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4