南naam4轅jyun4北bak1轍cit3

English

1. to act in a way that defeats one's purpose (idiom)
2. Originally means words and deeds are not in accord. Then extended to mean two groups or persons with different point of view, without meeting of minds. Literally: vehicle head south on a north-bound trackunreviewed?

粵語 — Cantonese

1. 原本指言行唔一致。引伸為兩方意見背道而馳，無法配合。unreviewed?

Examples

• 你要南辕北辙了。

  You're not going in the right direction.

  Tatoeba · Jubilee11 CC BY

• unreviewed?

  佢哋兩個已經傾咗成個下晝，但睇法依然南轅北轍，無法達成協議。

  They have been discussing for the whole afternoon, but their still get no meeting of minds, no agreement is yet compromised.

• unreviewed?

  你又話要考間好學校，依家又貪玩唔肯讀書，咁樣南轅北轍嘅做法，又點會考得好入學試呢？

  You mentioned wanting to get into a good school, but now you play all day instead of studying. How do you expect to perform well on the admission exam if your actions don't align with your words?