头痛医头,脚痛医脚 tóutòng yī tóu,jiǎotòng yī jiǎo Treat headache, treat foot pain

Explanation

比喻治标不治本,只解决表面问题而不解决根本问题。

A metaphor for treating symptoms without addressing the root cause. Only superficial problems are solved, not the underlying causes.

Origin Story

从前,有一个村庄经常发生瘟疫,村民们头痛医头,脚痛医脚,每次都只是治疗当前的症状,并没有找到瘟疫的真正病因。一位智者来到村庄,他发现村庄的饮用水源被污染了,于是他建议村民们清理水源,彻底解决饮用水的问题。村民们采纳了他的建议,清理了水源后,瘟疫便再也没有发生过。这个故事说明,头痛医头,脚痛医脚,治标不治本,最终只会事倍功半,只有找到问题的根本原因,才能彻底解决问题。

cóngqián, yǒu yīgè cūn zhuāng jīngcháng fāshēng wēnyì, cūnmínmen tóutòng yī tóu,jiǎotòng yī jiǎo,měi cì dōu zhǐshì zhìliáo dāngqián de zhèngzhàng, bìng méiyǒu zhǎodào wēnyì de zhēnzhèng bìngyīn。yī wèi zhìzhě lái dào cūn zhuāng,tā fāxiàn cūn zhuāng de yǐnyòng shuǐ yuán bèi wūrǎn le,yúshì tā jiànyì cūnmínmen qīnglǐ shuǐ yuán, chèdǐ jiějué yǐnyòng shuǐ de wèntí。cūnmínmen cǎinàile tā de jiànyì,qīnglǐle shuǐ yuán hòu,wēnyì biàn zài yě méiyǒu fāshēng guò。zhège gùshì shuōmíng,tóutòng yī tóu,jiǎotòng yī jiǎo,zhì biāo bù zhì běn, zuìzhōng zhǐ huì shì bèi gōng bàn, zhǐyǒu zhǎodào wèntí de gēnběn yuányīn, cáinéng chèdǐ jiějué wèntí。

Once upon a time, there was a village that frequently suffered from epidemics. The villagers would treat the symptoms, but never sought out the true cause. A wise man came to the village and discovered that the village's water source had been polluted. He suggested that the villagers clean up the water source to completely solve their water problem. The villagers followed his advice, cleaned up the water source, and the epidemic never happened again. This story shows that only by finding the root cause of a problem can one fully solve it.

Usage

用于批评只解决表面问题而不解决根本问题的人或做法。

yòng yú pīpíng zhǐ jiějué biǎomiàn wèntí ér bù jiějué gēnběn wèntí de rén huò zuòfǎ。

Used to criticize people or practices that only solve superficial problems without addressing the root causes.

Examples

  • 他总是头痛医头,脚痛医脚,从不思考问题的根本原因。

    tā zǒngshì tóutòng yī tóu,jiǎotòng yī jiǎo,cóng bù sīkǎo wèntí de gēnběn yuányīn。

    He always treats the symptoms, not the root cause. It's like treating headaches with headache medicine and foot pain with foot pain medicine.

  • 这种治标不治本的做法,就像头痛医头,脚痛医脚一样,难以解决根本问题。

    zhè zhǒng zhì biāo bù zhì běn de zuòfǎ,jiù xiàng tóutòng yī tóu,jiǎotòng yī jiǎo yīyàng,nán yǐ jiějué gēnběn wèntí。

    This approach of treating the symptoms instead of the root cause is like treating a headache by massaging the head and foot pain by rubbing the foot. It is difficult to solve the root problem.