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以汤止沸
以汤止沸
以汤止沸
以汤止沸
以汤止沸
以汤止沸
以汤止沸
以汤止沸

以汤止沸 — “To try to stop boiling water by adding more hot water”

以汤止沸 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to try to stop boiling water by adding more hot water”. A metaphor for using an ineffective method that only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause, thus providing no fundamental solution. Literally, “To stop boiling with boiling water”.

Frequency

以汤止沸 Pronunciation and Pinyin

以汤止沸 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order
CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
以
yǐ5by means of
汤
tāng6soup or hot water
止
zhǐ4to stop
沸
fèi8boil, effervesce, agitated

Example Sentence with 以汤止沸

我们不能只顾眼前利益,对深层问题视而不见,那无异于以汤止沸。
We cannot only focus on immediate benefits and ignore deeper problems; that would be no different from trying to stop boiling water with hot water.

Idioms Related to 以汤止沸

Synonyms of 以汤止沸

  • yǐ以huǒ火jiù救huǒ火fight fire with fire

More idioms starting with 以

  • yǐ以yī一jǐng儆bǎi百punish one to warn many
  • yǐ以yī一fèng奉bǎi百one producer supports a hundred consumers
  • yǐ以yī一dāng当shí十fight with the strength of ten men
  • yǐ以yī一dāng当bǎi百one person effective as a hundred
  • yǐ以yī一chí持wàn万Grasp key to control the whole
  • yǐ以yī一zhī知wàn万infer many from one
  • yǐ以yī一jǐng警bǎi百punish one to warn many
  • yǐ以yī一yù驭wàn万Control many by grasping the fundamental
  • yǐ以bù不biàn变yìng应wàn万biàn变respond to change with no change
  • yǐ以fǒu不jì济kě可help succeed by negating incorrect ideas
  • yǐ以fēng丰bǔ补qiàn歉save in times of plenty for scarcity
  • yǐ以wéi为kǒu口shí实provide material for criticism

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Questions about 以汤止沸

What does 以汤止沸 mean?

以汤止沸 (yǐ tāng zhǐ fèi) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to try to stop boiling water by adding more hot water”.

How do you pronounce 以汤止沸?

以汤止沸 is pronounced yǐ tāng zhǐ fèi in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 以汤止沸 literally mean?

Literally, 以汤止沸 means “to stop boiling with boiling water”. It is used to mean “to try to stop boiling water by adding more hot water”.

What is the Chinese definition of 以汤止沸?

用开水去制止水的沸腾。比喻不从根本上着手,对事情没有帮助。

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