刻舟求剑kè zhōu qiú jiànan action made pointless by changed circumstances

1. 1.

   an action made pointless by changed circumstancesidiom

Figurative meaning

An action made pointless by changed circumstances.

Literal meaning

A notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard.

• 刻to carve
• 舟boat
• 求to seek
• 剑double-edged sword

The story

A man of Chu was crossing a river when his sword fell from the boat into the water. He quickly cut a mark on the boat and said, “This is where my sword fell.”

刻舟求剑 can describe sticking to an old plan or method after the situation has changed.

1. HSK 4

   情况已经变了，还用老办法就是刻舟求剑。

   Qíngkuàng yǐjīng biàn le, hái yòng lǎo bànfǎ jiù shì kè zhōu qiú jiàn.

   The situation has already changed; still using the old method is pointless.

2. HSK 4

   市场变化很快，计划不改就是刻舟求剑。

   Shìchǎng biànhuà hěn kuài, jìhuà bù gǎi jiù shì kè zhōu qiú jiàn.

   The market changes fast; not changing the plan would make it pointless.

1. 
   Speaker A:

   这次考试，我还用去年的方法学习。

   Zhè cì kǎoshì, wǒ hái yòng qùnián de fāngfǎ xuéxí.

   For this exam, I'm still studying with last year's method.

2. 
   Speaker B:

   可是考试已经变了。

   Kěshì kǎoshì yǐjīng biàn le.

   But the exam has already changed.

3. 
   Speaker A:

   真的吗？我不知道。

   Zhēn de ma? Wǒ bù zhīdào.

   Really? I didn't know.

4. 
   Speaker B:

   对，再用老方法就是刻舟求剑了。

   Duì, zài yòng lǎo fāngfǎ jiù shì kè zhōu qiú jiàn le.

   Yes, using the old method again would be pointless.

1. 1.What does 刻舟求剑 mean?

   AAn action made pointless by changed circumstancesBTo buy a new boatCTo be good at swimming
2. 2.Which sentence uses 刻舟求剑 correctly?

   A情况变了还用老办法，是刻舟求剑。B这个苹果很刻舟求剑。C他刻舟求剑地唱歌。
3. 3.Which word fits best? 时间变了，计划也要变，不能____。 (Times have changed, so the plan must change too; don't act as if nothing changed.)

   A刻舟求剑B画龙点睛C人山人海

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Related idioms

• 实事求是shí shì qiú shìfig. to be practical and realisticHSK 7–9
• 破釜沉舟pò fǔ chén zhōuto cut off one's means of retreatNot on the HSK 3.0 syllabus
• 缘木求鱼yuán mù qiú yúto attempt the impossibleNot on the HSK 3.0 syllabus
• 一举两得yì jǔ liǎng détwo birds with one stoneHSK 7–9
• 一如既往yì rú jì wǎng(idiom) just as in the past; as before; continuing as alwaysHSK 7–9
• 一目了然yí mù liǎo ránobvious at a glance (idiom)HSK 7–9

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