| 本末倒置 |
běn mò dào zhì |
lit. to invert root and branch (idiom); fig. confusing cause and effect / to stress the incidental over the fundamental / to put the cart before the horse |
| 本 |
běn |
(bound form) root; stem / (bound form) origin; source / (bound form) one's own; this / (bound form) this; the current (year etc) / (bound form) original / (bound form) inherent / originally; initially / capital; principal / classifier for books, periodicals, files etc |
| 本末 |
běn mò |
the whole course of an event from beginning to end / ins and outs / the fundamental and the incidental |
| 末 |
me |
variant of 么 |
| 末 |
mò |
tip / end / final stage / latter part / inessential detail / powder / dust / opera role of old man |
| 倒 |
dǎo |
to fall; to collapse; to lie horizontally / to fail; to go bankrupt / to overthrow / to change (trains or buses) / to move around / to resell at a profit |
| 倒 |
dào |
to invert; to place upside down or frontside back / to pour out / to tip out; to dump / inverted; upside down; reversed / to go backward / contrary to what one might expect; but; yet |
| 倒置 |
dào zhì |
to invert |
| 置 |
zhì |
to install / to place / to put / to buy |