刻舟求剑

Traditional: 刻舟求劍

kè zhōu qiú jiàn

Dictionary entry

lit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiom); fig. an action made pointless by changed circumstances

What does 刻舟求剑 mean?

刻舟求剑 (kè zhōu qiú jiàn) has the following dictionary meaning.

1lit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiom); fig. an action made pointless by changed circumstances

Character breakdown

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刻kèquarter (hour) · moment 舟zhōuboat 求qiúto seek · to look for 剑jiàndouble-edged sword · CL:口[kou3],把[ba3]

Reviewed examples

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How to pronounce 刻舟求剑

刻舟求剑

kè zhōu qiú jiàn

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.