treat the symptoms; provide stopgap measures
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 2 examplesverb
to treat the symptoms; to provide a temporary solution; to address surface problems only
Commonly contrasted with 治本 (treating the root cause). Often used in medical, policy, or problem-solving contexts to criticize approaches that fail to address underlying issues.
Zhì治
bìng病
yào要
zhì治
běn本
，
bù不
néng能
zhǐ只
shì是
zhì治
biāo标
。
When treating an illness, you must cure the root cause, not just treat the symptoms.
Zhèng政
fǔ府
de的
zhè这
xiē些
cuò措
shī施
zhǐ只
shì是
zhì治
biāo标
，
méi没
yǒu有
jiě解
jué决
gēn根
běn本
wèn问
tí题
。
These government measures are only stopgap solutions and don't address the fundamental issues.