南辕北辙

nán yuán běi zhé

to act in a way that defeats your own aim; poles apart

Character by character

南nán
south

辕yuán
cart shafts

北běi
north

辙zhé
wheel ruts

你想减肥却天天吃蛋糕，这不是南辕北辙吗？

You want to lose weight yet eat cake every day. Is that not heading the opposite way?

Tone: negative (criticism).

A man wanted to go south to Chu but drove his cart north, boasting of his fast horses.

Learn this in Lesson 2 · HSK 5: 南方与北方 (North and south)

A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.