杯水车薪 — “An utterly inadequate measure to deal with a huge problem”
杯水车薪 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “an utterly inadequate measure to deal with a huge problem”. A drop in the bucket; a futile effort. Literally, “A cup of water to put out a cart of burning firewood”.
Frequency
杯水车薪 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 杯bēi
- 水shuǐ
- 车chē
- 薪xīn
杯水车薪 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 杯水车薪
面对如此巨大的资金缺口，这点捐款简直是杯水车薪，起不到什么作用。
Facing such a huge funding gap, this small donation is merely a drop in the bucket and won't make much difference.
Origin and Story of 杯水车薪
Once upon a time, a woodcutter was returning home with a cart full of firewood on a hot day. He stopped at a teahouse.
After sitting down and having some tea, he heard shouts outside: "Oh no, fire! The firewood cart is on fire!"
The woodcutter immediately stood up, grabbed his teacup, and rushed out. He threw the water from his teacup onto the burning cart.
But it had no effect at all; the fire grew bigger and bigger, and finally, the cart turned to ashes.
Idioms Related to 杯水车薪
Synonyms of 杯水车薪
Antonyms of 杯水车薪
More idioms starting with 杯
- bēi杯zhōng中zhī之wù物alcoholic beverages
- bēi杯zhōng中wù物alcoholic drink
- bēi杯zhōng中shé蛇yǐng影frightened by imaginary dangers
- bēi杯quān圈zhī之sī思Longing for one's deceased mother
- bēi杯gōng弓shì市hǔ虎imagining dangers from groundless suspicions
- bēi杯gōng弓shé蛇yǐng影imaginary fears cause self-fright
- bēi杯yǐng影shé蛇gōng弓scared by imaginary fears
- bēi杯cán残zhì炙lěng冷leftovers from a meal
- bēi杯shuǐ水zhī之jìng敬a humble token of respect
- bēi杯shuǐ水zhī之xiè谢a meager token of gratitude
- bēi杯shuǐ水lì粒sù粟meager amount of food and drink
- bēi杯shuǐ水yú舆xīn薪an utterly inadequate measure
Questions about 杯水车薪
- What does 杯水车薪 mean?
- 杯水车薪 (bēi shuǐ chē xīn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “an utterly inadequate measure to deal with a huge problem”.
- How do you pronounce 杯水车薪?
- 杯水车薪 is pronounced bēi shuǐ chē xīn in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 杯水车薪 literally mean?
- Literally, 杯水车薪 means “a cup of water to put out a cart of burning firewood”. It is used to mean “an utterly inadequate measure to deal with a huge problem”.
- Where does 杯水车薪 come from?
- 杯水车薪 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 杯水车薪?
- 用一杯水去救一车着了火的柴草。比喻力量太小，解决不了问题。