Meaning of 舍本逐末
舍本逐末 means to neglect the fundamental and pursue the trivial; to put the cart before the horse; to get priorities backwards. Pronounced shě běn zhú mò.
- to neglect the fundamental and pursue the trivial; to put the cart before the horse; to get priorities backwards
Definitions & Examples
Nǐ你
zhè这
yàng样
zhǐ只
guān关
zhù注
xì细
jié节
，
jiǎn简
zhí直
shì是
shě舍
běn本
zhú逐
mò末
。
You're focusing only on minor details; this is completely putting the cart before the horse.
Zuò做
qǐ企
yè业
rú如
guǒ果
zhǐ只
zhuī追
qiú求
duǎn短
qī期
lì利
yì益
ér而
hū忽
shì视
chǎn产
pǐn品
zhì质
liàng量
，
jiù就
shì是
shě舍
běn本
zhú逐
mò末
。
If a business pursues only short-term profits while neglecting product quality, it is neglecting the fundamentals.
Xué学
xí习
yǔ语
yán言
bù不
néng能
zhǐ只
bèi背
dān单
cí词
ér而
bù不
lǐ理
jiě解
yǔ语
fǎ法
，
nà那
yàng样
huì会
shě舍
běn本
zhú逐
mò末
。
When learning a language, you can't just memorize vocabulary without understanding grammar; that would be missing the point.
Zhèng政
fǔ府
tóu投
zī资
yīng应
gāi该
jiě解
jué决
mín民
shēng生
wèn问
tí题
，
ér而
bù不
shì是
shě舍
běn本
zhú逐
mò末
de地
zhuī追
qiú求
xíng形
xiàng象
gōng工
chéng程
。
Government investment should address people's livelihood issues, not put the cart before the horse by pursuing vanity projects.