DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
遠水救不了近火
简 远水救不了近火 · 繁 遠水救不了近火Mandarin · pinyin yuǎn shuǐ jiù bu liǎo jìn huǒ
Meanings
- water in a distant place is of little use in putting out a fire right here
- (fig.) a slow remedy does not address the current emergency
Characters in this entry
- 遠
- yuǎn · distant, remote, far; profound
- 水
- shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
- 救
- jiù · save, rescue, relieve; help, aid
- 不
- bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
- 了
- le · to finish; particle of completed action
- 近
- jìn · near, close; approach; intimate
- 火
- huǒ · fire, flame; burn; anger, rage
- 远
- yuǎn · distant, remote, far; profound
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
3–3–4–5–3–4–3 · yuan3 shui3 jiu4 bu5 liao3 jin4 huo3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
8character links
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
jyun5 seoi2 gau3 bat1 liu5 gan6 fo2
Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
proverb
- (alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 遠水不救近火 /远水不救近火 (yuǎn shuǐ bù jiù jìn huǒ, “a slow remedy cannot resolve an emergency”)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack