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Chinese Character/Word:

Definition(s) for: 本末倒置

Hanzi Pinyin Definition(s)
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

List Ranking:

Where rank 1 is most common, and higher numbers are less common.

HSK 2 Level (2012) HSK 3 Band (2022) SUBTLEX-CH BeijingUni Global BeijingUni Weibo
- - 39,945 44,840 31,494

Individual Character Breakdown:

Simp Pinyin Eng
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
- tip
- end
- final stage
- latter part
- inessential detail
- powder
- dust
- opera role of old man
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
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
zhì- to install
- to place
- to put
- to buy

Other Words Containing 本末倒置

Sorted by the 'SUBTLEX-CH' rank because that seems like the most reliable. Words without a SUBTLEX-CH rank are ignored for being too rare.

Word HSK 2 Level (2012) HSK 3 Band (2022) SUBTLEX-CH BeijingUni Global BeijingUni Weibo
本末倒置 - - 39,945 44,840 31,494