DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

刻舟求劍

简刻舟求剑 · 繁刻舟求劍

Mandarin · pinyin kè zhōu qiú jiàn

lit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiom); fig. an action made pointless by changed circumstances

Characters in this entry

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

4–1–2–4 · ke4 zhou1 qiu2 jian4

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

4character links

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

hak1 zau1 kau4 gim3

Cantonese word readings for 刻舟求劍. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

hak1 zau1 kau4 gim3

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

(idiomatic) to not know how to adapt to changed conditions; to rigidly cling to an idea or approach without considering the reality of a situation; to stubbornly cling to tradition