本末
běn mò
Pinyin

Definition

本末
 - 
běn mò
  1. the whole course of an event from beginning to end
  2. ins and outs
  3. the fundamental and the incidental

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

jī běn
  1. 1 basic
  2. 2 fundamental
  3. 3 main
  4. 4 elementary
Rì běn
  1. 1 Japan
Mò rì
  1. 1 Judgment Day (in Christian eschatology)
běn
  1. 1 root
  2. 2 stem
  3. 3 origin
  4. 4 source
  5. 5 this
  6. 6 the current
  7. 7 original
  8. 8 inherent
  9. 9 originally
  10. 10 classifier for books, periodicals, files etc
běn rén
  1. 1 the person himself
  2. 2 I (humble form used in speeches)
  3. 3 oneself
  4. 4 myself
  5. 5 in person
  6. 6 personal
běn lái
  1. 1 original
  2. 2 originally
  3. 3 at first
  4. 4 it goes without saying
  5. 5 of course
běn sè
  1. 1 inherent qualities
  2. 2 natural qualities
  3. 3 distinctive character
  4. 4 true qualities
gēn běn
  1. 1 fundamental
  2. 2 basic
  3. 3 root
  4. 4 simply
  5. 5 absolutely (not)
  6. 6 (not) at all
  7. 7 CL:個|个[gè]
bǎn běn
  1. 1 version
  2. 2 edition
  3. 3 release
Zhào Běn shān
  1. 1 Zhao Benshan (1958-), universally known PRC TV comedian
zhōu mò
  1. 1 weekend
qiè mo
  1. 1 stage props
fù běn
  1. 1 copy
  2. 2 duplicate
  3. 3 transcript
  4. 4 (in online games) instance
jù běn
  1. 1 script for play, opera, movie etc
  2. 2 screenplay
  3. 3 scenario
yuán běn
  1. 1 originally
  2. 2 original
jī běn shang
  1. 1 basically
  2. 2 on the whole
Mò ěr běn
  1. 1 Melbourne, Australia
nián mò
  1. 1 end of the year
chéng běn
  1. 1 (manufacturing, production etc) costs
wén běn
  1. 1 version
  2. 2 text

Idioms (14)

一本万利
yī běn wàn lì
  1. 1 small capital, huge profit (idiom); to put in a little and get a lot out
三句话不离本行
sān jù huà bù lí běn háng
  1. 1 to talk shop all the time (idiom)
勤俭为服务之本
qín jiǎn wéi fú wù zhī běn
  1. 1 hardwork and thriftiness are the foundations of service (idiom)
报本反始
bào běn fǎn shǐ
  1. 1 ensure that you pay debts of gratitude (idiom)
家家有本难念的经
jiā jiā yǒu běn nán niàn de jīng
  1. 1 Every family goes through its problems. (idiom)
强弩之末
qiáng nǔ zhī mò
  1. 1 lit. an arrow at the end of its flight (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. spent force
慈悲为本
cí bēi wéi běn
  1. 1 mercy as the guiding principle (idiom); the Buddhist teaching that nothing is valid except compassion
舍本逐末
shě běn zhú mò
  1. 1 to neglect the root and pursue the tip (idiom)
  2. 2 to neglect fundamentals and concentrate on details
本性难移
běn xìng nán yí
  1. 1 It is hard to change one's essential nature (idiom). You can't change who you are.
  2. 2 Can the leopard change his spots? (Jeremiah 13:23)
本末倒置
běn mò dào zhì
  1. 1 lit. to invert root and branch (idiom); fig. confusing cause and effect
  2. 2 to stress the incidental over the fundamental
  3. 3 to put the cart before the horse
江山易改,本性难移
jiāng shān yì gǎi , běn xìng nán yí
  1. 1 it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter one's character (idiom)
  2. 2 you can't change who you are
  3. 3 Can the leopard change his spots?
穷途末路
qióng tú mò lù
  1. 1 lit. the path exhausted, the end of the road (idiom); an impasse
  2. 2 in a plight with no way out
  3. 3 things have reached a dead end
血本无归
xuè běn wú guī
  1. 1 to lose everything one invested (idiom)
  2. 2 to lose one's shirt
变本加厉
biàn běn jiā lì
  1. 1 lit. change to more severe (idiom); to become more intense (esp. of shortcoming)
  2. 2 to aggravate
  3. 3 to intensify

Sample Sentences

你们也体谅体谅老师。老师们的主要任务是教授知识,培养大家的学术素养和实际技能。一心只想着出去赚钱,不是本末倒置嘛,教授能不寒心吗?
nǐmen yě tǐliàng tǐliang lǎoshī 。lǎoshīmen de zhǔyào rènwu shì jiāoshòu zhīshi ,péiyǎng dàjiā de xuéshù sùyǎng hé shíjì jìnéng 。yīxīn zhǐ xiǎng zhe chūqù zhuànqián ,bùshì běnmòdàozhì ma ,jiàoshòu néng bù hánxīn ma ?
You also need to cut the teachers some slack. The teachers' primary job is to impart knowledge and foster academic achievement and technical mastery. Focusing solely on thinking about how to make money, isn't that just putting the cart before the horse? Do you think the professors aren't hurt by this?