南辕北辙 in English nan2 yuan2 bei3 zhe2 Meaning

Meanings

  • to act in a way that defeats one's purpose (idiomatic expression)

Simplified Characters

南 辕 北 辙

Traditional Characters

南 轅 北 轍

Pinyin

nan2 yuan2 bei3 zhe2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

南nan2surname Nan 辕yuan2shafts of cart 北bei3north 辙zhe2to remove