Shareables · HSK 5 · 文 · Culture
成语 · 刻舟求剑
Notching the boat to find the sword — using a map of a world that has moved on.
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刻舟求剑kè zhōu qiú jiànto notch the boat to find the sword — to act by a rule the situation has outgrown
逐字 · CHARACTER BY CHARACTER
| Character | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 刻 | kè | to carve, to notch |
| 舟 | zhōu | boat |
| 求 | qiú | to seek |
| 剑 | jiàn | sword |
A man dropped his sword over the side of a moving boat, and carefully cut a notch in the gunwale to mark the spot. When the boat docked he dived under the notch. 《吕氏春秋》, 3rd century BC.
用法 · IN USE
Qíngkuàng zǎo jiù biàn le, bié zài kè zhōu qiú jiàn.情况早就变了，别再刻舟求剑。Things changed long ago — stop diving under the notch.
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