DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

水中撈月

简水中捞月 · 繁水中撈月

Mandarin · pinyin shuǐ zhōng lāo yuè

(lit.) to scoop the moon out of the water (idiom)
(fig.) a hopeless endeavor

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

水: shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
中: zhōng · central; center, middle; in the midst of; hit (target); attain
撈: Look up this written character
月: yuè · moon; month; Kangxi radical 74
捞: lāo · scoop out of water; dredge, fish

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–1–1–4 · shui3 zhong1 lao1 yue4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

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

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

水中撈月 · find source passages ↗ · 水中捞月 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

seoi2 zung1 laau4 jyut6

Cantonese word readings for 水中撈月. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(figurative) to make a hopeless, futile or vain effort at doing something; to ask for the moon

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

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