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本末転倒 (ほんまつてんとう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Freq. Frequency Top 50,000 Conjugation Meanings 1
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb
putting the cart before the horse ; mistaking the means for the end ; getting priorities backwards
yojijukugo (four-character idiom)
A yojijukugo describing a situation where the original purpose is lost and secondary matters take precedence, or where the means and the end are reversed.
本ほん
末まつ
転てん
倒とう
だ
。
Spending too much time preparing for the meeting and forgetting its purpose is putting the cart before the horse.
Written forms 本ほん 末まつ 転てん 倒とう
Standard modern spelling; used in news and everyday writing.
本ほん 末まつ 顛てん 倒とう
rarely-used kanji form
Rare variant using 顛 instead of 転; same meaning but seldom encountered.
本ほん 末まつ 顚てん 倒とう
rarely-used kanji form
Rare variant using 顚; same meaning but seldom encountered.
Kanji 転 revolve, turn around, change 倒 overthrow, fall, collapse 顛 overturn, summit, origin Similar words 主しゅ 客かく 転てん 倒とう 主客転倒 means reversing the roles of host and guest, or more broadly confusing the primary and secondary elements. 本末転倒 focuses on confusing the fundamental (本) and the trivial (末), while 主客転倒 emphasizes the reversal of main and subordinate roles.
Etymology From the Chinese idiom 本末顛倒, composed of 本 (root, origin), 末 (tip, end), and 転倒/顛倒 (to turn upside down, to reverse). The phrase literally means 'reversing root and tip,' i.e., confusing the fundamental with the trivial.
