Definition
This is a literary four-character idiom meaning 'to go against someone's approach' or 'to do the exact opposite of what someone is doing'. Literally it says 'reverse that path and go on it' – the 其 refers to the other person's method, and the whole phrase emphasizes deliberate opposition. It's often used with 与 (yǔ): 与某人反其道而行之 ('act in opposition to someone'). Use it when describing a strategy, philosophy, or action that deliberately defies conventional or expected behavior.
f.e.
to do exactly the oppositeto act in direct opposition (to someone's approach)
Examples
- ，反其道而行之，。Tāmen dōu zài tígāo jiàgé, wǒmen què fǎn qí dào ér xíng zhī, cǎiqǔ jiàngjià cèlüè.Everyone is raising prices, but we're doing the opposite – adopting a price-cut strategy.
- 反其道而行之，，。Tā xuǎnzé fǎn qí dào ér xíng zhī, bù àn chánglǐ chū pái, jiéguǒ qǔdé le chénggōng.He chose to do the opposite and play outside the rules, and it ended up bringing him success.
- ，反其道而行之，。Dāng biérén mángmù gēn fēng shí, nǐ bùrú fǎn qí dào ér xíng zhī, xúnzhǎo xīn fāngxiàng.When others blindly follow the trend, you might as well go the opposite way and look for a new direction.
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