头痛医头，脚痛医脚

MEANING

1. 壹动verb

   to treat the symptoms rather than getting to the root of the problem (proverb)

   • wǒmenbùnéngtóutòngyītóu,jiǎotòngyījiǎo.

     我们不能头痛医头，脚痛医脚。🔊

     We cannot treat a headache by only treating the head and a foot pain by only treating the foot.

2. 貳形adjective

   reactive (rather than proactive)

   • zhèzhǒngtóutòngyītóu,jiǎotòngyījiǎodefāngfǎbùnéngjiějuégēnběnwèntí.

     这种头痛医头，脚痛医脚的方法不能解决根本问题。🔊

     This method of treating a headache by treating the head and a foot pain by treating the foot cannot solve the fundamental problem.