刻
舟
求
剑

Lit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiom) in Chinese: 刻舟求剑 (kè zhōu qiú jiàn)

kè zhōu qiú jiàn

lit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiom)

HSK 3.0 Levels 7-9Traditional: 刻舟求劍1 example sentence

Definitions

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

Stroke order

Watch how to write 刻舟求剑 stroke by stroke.

刻
舟
求
剑

Zhuyin

This word’s pronunciation in Bopomofo.

Learn how to read Zhuyin

ㄎㄜˋ

kè

ㄎ/ kㄜ/ eˋ/ fourth tone

ㄓㄡ

zhōu

ㄓ/ zhㄡ/ ou—/ first tone

ㄑㄧㄡˊ

qiú

ㄑ/ qㄧ/ iㄡ/ ouˊ/ second tone

ㄐㄧㄢˋ

jiàn

ㄐ/ jㄧ/ iㄢ/ anˋ/ fourth tone

Simplified & traditional

刻舟求剑

Simplified

刻舟求劍

Traditional

Example sentences

See 刻舟求剑 used in real sentences with pinyin and English translations.

  • 他的做法就像刻舟求剑一样。

    tā de zuò fǎ jiù xiàng kè zhōu qiú jiàn yí yàng。

    His approach is as pointless as marking a boat to find a dropped sword.

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Related words

刻

kè

quarter (hour)

求

qiú

to seek

剑

jiàn

double-edged sword

要求

yāo qiú

to request

刻苦

kè kǔ

hardworking

立刻

lì kè

forthwith

请求

qǐng qiú

to request

深刻

shēn kè

profound

时刻

shí kè

time

征求

zhēng qiú

to solicit

追求

zhuī qiú

to pursue (a goal etc) stubbornly

需求

xū qiú

requirement

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Levels 7-9 vocabulary list

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