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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

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

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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

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

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Mandarin tones

3–3–4–5–3–4–3 · yuan3 shui3 jiu4 bu5 liao3 jin4 huo3

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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.

遠水救不了近火 · find source passages ↗ · 远水救不了近火 · find source passages ↗

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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.

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

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