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南轅北轍

简南辕北辙 · 繁南轅北轍

Mandarin · pinyin nán yuán běi zhé

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

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Characters in this entry

南: nán · south; southern part; southward
轅: Look up this written character
北: běi · north; northern; northward
轍: Look up this written character
辕: yuán · axle; magistrate's office; surname
辙: zhé · wagon ruts, wheel tracks

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–2–3–2 · nan2 yuan2 bei3 zhe2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

南轅北轍 · find source passages ↗ · 南辕北辙 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

naam4 jyun4 bak1 cit3

Cantonese word readings for 南轅北轍. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to be counterproductive; to run counter to; to work at cross-purposes; to sabotage your own progress; to go off in the wrong direction; to be self-defeating

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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