南辕北辙

南辕北辙南轅北轍 nán yuán běi zhé ㄋㄢˊ ㄩㄢˊ ㄅㄟˇ ㄓㄜˊ naam4 jyun4 bak1 cit3

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

Stroke order

Practice writing

Draw 南 (1 of 4) — stroke by stroke.

Draw each stroke of the character in order using your mouse or finger. A hint appears after three misses.

Character breakdown

Example sentences

  • 你要南辕北辙了。 You're not going in the right direction.

Sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY)