南辕北辙 nányuánběizhé

1. at odds with
2. act in a way that defeats one's purpose

These meanings come from the same dictionary that powers the Chinese to Pinyin translator and the Chinese to English translator, so a whole sentence containing 南辕北辙 will read it the same way this page does.

南辕北辙 is written with 4 characters. Chinese words are usually easier to remember once you can see what each part contributes.

What does 南辕北辙 mean in English?

南辕北辙 is pronounced nányuánběizhé and means at odds with, act in a way that defeats one's purpose.

How do you pronounce 南辕北辙?

南辕北辙 is nányuánběizhé in pinyin — written nanyuanbeizhe without tone marks. Press the audio button on this page to hear it spoken by a native voice.

What are the characters in 南辕北辙?

南辕北辙 is written with 4 characters: 南 (nán) South, 北 (běi) North, 辙 (zhé) Track (rut). Knowing the parts is usually how the whole word becomes memorable.

How is 南辕北辙 written in traditional Chinese?

南轅北轍. The simplified form 南辕北辙 is used in mainland China and Singapore; 南轅北轍 is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Both are pronounced nányuánběizhé.

Is 南辕北辙 an HSK word?

Yes — 南辕北辙 is on the official HSK 6 vocabulary list. You can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 6 page.