当务之急 top priority
Explanation
指当前最重要最紧急的事情。
Refers to the most important and urgent matter at present.
Origin Story
战国时期，孟子曾说，处理事情要分清主次轻重缓急，先处理当务之急。有一位弟子问孟子，如何处理繁杂的事情，孟子回答说：‘当务之急，舍此之外，皆不必虑也。’ 意思是说，要找出当前最重要的、最紧急的事情来处理，其他的事情可以暂时放在一边。后来，这个弟子带着疑问去拜访一位老先生，老先生给他讲了一个故事：从前有位官员，他每天都处理各种各样的公务，忙得焦头烂额。有一天，他突然发现，自己忽略了一个非常重要的事情——他的家庭。他的妻子和孩子对他越来越疏远，家庭关系变得很紧张。这位老先生对弟子说，‘这位官员就是因为没有把‘家庭和睦’作为‘当务之急’来处理，所以导致了家庭的破碎。’”,
During the Warring States period, Mencius once said that when dealing with matters, one should distinguish between primary and secondary, light and heavy, urgent and slow, and deal with the most urgent matters first. A disciple asked Mencius how to deal with complicated matters, and Mencius replied: 'The urgent matter, apart from this, need not be considered.' This means that one should identify the most important and urgent matter to deal with, and other matters can be temporarily set aside. Later, this disciple visited an old gentleman with questions, and the old gentleman told him a story: Once upon a time, there was an official who dealt with various kinds of official business every day and was very busy. One day, he suddenly found that he had neglected a very important matter – his family. His wife and children became increasingly estranged from him, and family relationships became tense. The old gentleman said to the disciple, 'This official failed to treat “family harmony” as “the most urgent matter”, which led to the breakdown of his family.’
Usage
主要用于形容事情的轻重缓急，强调当前最重要的任务。
Mainly used to describe the urgency of things and emphasize the most important task at present.
Examples
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面对紧急情况，我们必须先处理当务之急。
mian dui jinji qingkuang, women bixu xian chuli dangwu zhi ji.
In an emergency, we must deal with the most urgent matters first.
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现在当务之急是控制疫情的蔓延。
xianzai dangwu zhi ji shi kongzhi yiqing de manyan
The top priority now is to control the spread of the epidemic.