斗升之水 — “A metaphor for meager or insufficient help or financial aid”
斗升之水 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a metaphor for meager or insufficient help or financial aid”. A drop in the bucket. Literally, “A dipper or liter of water”.
斗升之水 Pronunciation and Pinyin
斗升之水 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 斗升之水
Origin and Story of 斗升之水
During the Warring States period, the philosopher Zhuangzi (庄周) used allegorical stories in his work 'Zhuangzi'. In the chapter 'External Things' (外物), he told a story:
While traveling, Zhuangzi heard a voice. He discovered a crucian carp struggling in a dry rut, desperately short of water. The carp pleaded for help.
Zhuangzi offered to fetch a cup of water to save it. The carp replied that it was a minister of the East Sea, and a mere dipper or liter of water would be utterly insufficient for its survival.
Idioms Related to 斗升之水
Synonyms of 斗升之水
More idioms starting with 斗
- dòu斗lì丽zhēng争yán妍vie for beauty
- dòu斗shēng升zhī之lù禄a meager salary
- dǒu斗nán南yī一rén人an unparalleled talent
- dòu斗chún唇hé合shé舌to show off one's eloquence
- dòu斗mèi媚zhēng争yán妍vie for charm and beauty
- dòu斗zhì志áng昂yáng扬full of fight and enthusiasm
- dòu斗guài怪zhēng争qí奇compete in strangeness or novelty
- dǒu斗zhé折shé蛇xíng行winding like the Big Dipper and a snake
- dǒu斗yì挹jī箕yáng扬Impractical or useless
- dòu斗hú斛zhī之lù禄a meager salary
- dǒu斗fāng方míng名shì士Pretentious dabbler in minor arts
- dòu斗zhì智dòu斗lì力compete in wits and strength
Recommended tools
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →Questions about 斗升之水
What does 斗升之水 mean?
斗升之水 (dǒu shēng zhī shuǐ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a metaphor for meager or insufficient help or financial aid”.
How do you pronounce 斗升之水?
斗升之水 is pronounced dǒu shēng zhī shuǐ in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 斗升之水 literally mean?
Literally, 斗升之水 means “a dipper or liter of water”. It is used to mean “a metaphor for meager or insufficient help or financial aid”.
Where does 斗升之水 come from?
斗升之水 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 斗升之水?
比喻微薄的资助。