DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

背道而馳

简背道而驰 · 繁背道而馳

Mandarin · pinyin bèi dào ér chí

to run in the opposite direction (idiom); to run counter to

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

背: bèi · back; back side; behind; betray
道: dào · path, road, street; method, way
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
馳: Look up this written character
驰: chí · go quickly or swiftly; hurry

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–4–2–2 · bei4 dao4 er2 chi2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

背道而馳 · find source passages ↗ · 背道而驰 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bui3 dou6 ji4 ci4

Cantonese word readings for 背道而馳. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to run in opposite directions; to run counter to; to be inconsistent with

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack