刻舟求剑 in English ke4 zhou1 qiu2 jian4 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiomatic expression); metaphorically an action made pointless by changed circumstances

Simplified Characters

刻 舟 求 剑

Traditional Characters

刻 舟 求 劍

Pinyin

ke4 zhou1 qiu2 jian4

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

刻ke4quarter (hour) 舟zhou1boat 求qiu2to seek 剑jian4double-edged sword