How do you pronounce 刻舟求剑?

刻舟求剑 is pronounced kè zhōu qiú jiàn in Mandarin Chinese.

Where does 刻舟求剑 come from?

刻舟求剑 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.

What is the Chinese definition of 刻舟求剑?

比喻不懂事物已发展变化而仍静止地看问题。

刻舟求剑 — “Carve a mark on the boat to find the sword”

刻舟求剑 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to cling to an outdated perspective or method, failing to recognize that circumstances have changed; to act in a rigid, impractical, or foolish manner by adhering to outdated ways”. Literally, “Carve a mark on the boat to find the sword”.

Frequency

刻舟求剑 Pronunciation and Pinyin

刻kè
舟zhōu
求qiú
剑jiàn

刻舟求剑 Character Breakdown

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
刻	kè	8	carve, quarter hour, harsh
舟	zhōu	6	boat
求	qiú	7	seek, beg, demand
剑	jiàn	9	ancient long-bladed weapon

Example Sentence with 刻舟求剑

面对快速变化的市场，如果我们的营销策略还停留在几年前，那简直就是刻舟求剑，注定会被淘汰。

Facing a rapidly changing market, if our marketing strategies remain stuck in those from a few years ago, that would simply be like carving a mark on the boat to find the sword, destined to be eliminated.

Origin and Story of 刻舟求剑

During the Warring States period, a man from the State of Chu was crossing a river by boat. When the boat reached the middle of the river, he accidentally dropped his precious sword into the water. He quickly tried to catch it, but it was too late.

The other passengers on the boat felt very sorry for him, but the man from Chu seemed quite confident. He immediately took out a small knife, carved a mark on the side of the boat, and told everyone, 'This is where my sword fell into the water, so I'm making a mark here.' Everyone was puzzled by his action and didn't ask him further.

After the boat docked, the man from Chu immediately jumped into the water at the spot where he had made the mark on the boat, to retrieve his fallen sword. He searched for a long time but couldn't find any trace of the sword. He felt very strange and muttered to himself, 'Didn't my sword fall here? I even made a mark here, so why can't I find it?'

At this point, the people on the boat burst into laughter and said, 'The boat has been moving all along, but your sword sank to the bottom and stayed there. How could you possibly find your sword?' Indeed, after the sword fell into the river, the boat continued to move, but the sword itself did not. Searching for it in such a way was truly foolish and ridiculous.

Idioms Related to 刻舟求剑

Synonyms of 刻舟求剑

Antonyms of 刻舟求剑

More idioms starting with 刻

Questions about 刻舟求剑

What does 刻舟求剑 mean?: 刻舟求剑 (kè zhōu qiú jiàn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to cling to an outdated perspective or method, failing to recognize that circumstances have changed; to act in a rigid, impractical, or foolish manner by adhering to outdated ways”.
How do you pronounce 刻舟求剑?: 刻舟求剑 is pronounced kè zhōu qiú jiàn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 刻舟求剑 literally mean?: Literally, 刻舟求剑 means “Carve a mark on the boat to find the sword”. It is used to mean “to cling to an outdated perspective or method, failing to recognize that circumstances have changed; to act in a rigid, impractical, or foolish manner by adhering to outdated ways”.
Where does 刻舟求剑 come from?: 刻舟求剑 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 刻舟求剑?: 比喻不懂事物已发展变化而仍静止地看问题。

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