本běn末mò倒dào置zhì

Literal: root and tip placed upside down
Figurative: To get one's priorities backwards, pouring effort into minor matters while neglecting what counts; putting the cart before the horse.

Where does 本末倒置 come from?

It does not come from a specific anecdote; the image is taken from a tree. 本 is the root or trunk, what holds the plant up, and 末 is the tip of the branches; 倒置 means "to place upside down." In Confucian texts the pair 本末 was already a way of talking about the essential and the incidental: the 《大学》 says that things have roots and branches, and that one should know what comes first. Putting the tip where the root belongs therefore means turning priorities on their head. Today it is used mostly as a reproach, at home, in school or at work.

How is 本末倒置 used? Two examples

给gěi孩hái子zi报bào了le一yī堆duī补bǔ习xí班bān，连lián觉jiào都dōu睡shuì不bù够gòu，这zhè不bù是shì本běn末mò倒dào置zhì吗ma？
Signing the kid up for so many tutoring classes that he can't even get enough sleep: isn't that getting your priorities backwards?
开kāi会huì是shì为wèi了le解jiě决jué问wèn题tí，现xiàn在zài却què天tiān天tiān开kāi会huì，没méi时shí间jiān干gàn活huó，真zhēn是shì本běn末mò倒dào置zhì。
Meetings are supposed to solve problems, but now we're in meetings every day with no time left to actually work. Talk about putting the cart before the horse.

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