扬汤止沸 — “Scoop out hot water to stop it from boiling”
扬汤止沸 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to adopt a temporary or superficial solution that fails to address the fundamental cause of a problem; an ineffectual remedy that merely postpones or sidesteps the real issue”. Literally, “scoop out hot water to stop it from boiling”.
扬汤止沸 Pronunciation and Pinyin
扬汤止沸 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 扬汤止沸
Origin and Story of 扬汤止沸
In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Liu Yi's elder brother, Liu Wangzhi, was killed by Liu Biao, the Inspector of Jing Province. Liu Yi then went to join Cao Cao.
Later, his younger brother, Liu Wei, was an accomplice of Wei Feng, who was involved in an assassination plot against Cao Cao. According to the law, Liu Yi should also have been executed. However, Cao Cao valued his talent and spared his life.
Liu Yi wrote a letter to Cao Cao, thanking him for his "scooping water to stop boiling" life-saving grace, which allowed him to "make dry wood blossom" (implying a new lease on life).
Idioms Related to 扬汤止沸
Synonyms of 扬汤止沸
Antonyms of 扬汤止沸
More idioms starting with 扬
- yáng扬lì厉pù铺zhāng张exaggerate and make a grand display
- yáng扬míng名hòu后shì世gain lasting posthumous fame
- yáng扬míng名sì四hǎi海become famous everywhere
- yáng扬míng名xiǎn显qīn亲Achieve fame and honor parents
- yáng扬míng名xiǎn显xìng姓achieve fame and honor
- yáng扬wēi威yào曜wǔ武display power and might
- yáng扬wēi威yào耀wǔ武show off power and might
- yáng扬jǐ己lù露cái才display one's talents
- yáng扬fān幡zhāo招hún魂Advocate for reviving obsolete things
- yáng扬fān幡léi擂gǔ鼓make a great fanfare
- yáng扬yáng扬dé得yì意highly elated and proud
- yáng扬yáng扬zì自dé得immensely pleased with oneself
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Open the tool →Questions about 扬汤止沸
What does 扬汤止沸 mean?
扬汤止沸 (yáng tāng zhǐ fèi) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to adopt a temporary or superficial solution that fails to address the fundamental cause of a problem; an ineffectual remedy that merely postpones or sidesteps the real issue”.
How do you pronounce 扬汤止沸?
扬汤止沸 is pronounced yáng tāng zhǐ fèi in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 扬汤止沸 literally mean?
Literally, 扬汤止沸 means “scoop out hot water to stop it from boiling”. It is used to mean “to adopt a temporary or superficial solution that fails to address the fundamental cause of a problem; an ineffectual remedy that merely postpones or sidesteps the real issue”.
Where does 扬汤止沸 come from?
扬汤止沸 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 扬汤止沸?
把锅里开着的水舀起来再倒回去，使它凉下来不沸腾。比喻办法不彻底，不能从根本上解决问题。