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竹籃打水

简 竹篮打水 · 繁 竹籃打水
Mandarin · pinyin zhú lán dǎ shuǐ

Meanings

  1. using a wicker basket to draw water (idiom); wasted effort
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Characters in this entry

竹
zhú · bamboo; flute; Kangxi radical 118
籃
Look up this written character
打
dǎ · strike, hit, beat; fight; attack
水
shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
篮
lán · basket
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 竹籃打水 ↗Words written with 竹 ↗Words written with 籃 ↗Words written with 打 ↗Words written with 水 ↗Words written with 篮 ↗

Mandarin tones

2–2–3–3 · zhu2 lan2 da3 shui3

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zuk1 laam2 daa2 seoi2 · zuk1 laam4 daa2 seoi2

Cantonese word readings for 竹籃打水. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

  1. (figurative) wild-goose chase; wasted effort

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack