put the cart before the horse; reverse the order of importance
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesidiom
to put the trivial before the important; to confuse cause and effect
formalCriticizes a fundamental mistake in prioritizing tasks or understanding a situation. Used formally in both spoken and written language.
Bù不
jiě解
jué决
gēn根
běn本
wèn问
tí题
，
zhǐ只
zhuā抓
biǎo表
miàn面
xiàn现
xiàng象
，
zhè这
shì是
běn本
mò末
dào倒
zhì置
。
Not solving the root problem and only focusing on surface phenomena is putting the cart before the horse.
Gōng公
sī司
běn本
mò末
dào倒
zhì置
，
huā花
dà大
liàng量
yù预
suàn算
zuò做
guǎng广
gào告
，
què却
bù不
tí提
shēng升
chǎn产
pǐn品
zhì质
liàng量
。
The company has its priorities backwards, spending a huge budget on advertising but not improving product quality.
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Xué学
xí习
yǔ语
yán言
，
zhǐ只
jì记
dān单
cí词
bù不
liàn练
xí习
huì会
huà话
，
wèi未
miǎn免
běn本
mò末
dào倒
zhì置
。
When learning a language, just memorizing vocabulary without practicing conversation is to reverse the order of importance.
Zhèng政
fǔ府
ruò若
zhǐ只
gù顾
jīng经
jì济
zēng增
zhǎng长
ér而
hū忽
shì视
huán环
jìng境
bǎo保
hù护
，
biàn便
shì是
běn本
mò末
dào倒
zhì置
。
If the government only cares about economic growth and neglects environmental protection, it is putting the cart before the horse.