远水不解近渴 in English yuan3 shui3 bu4 jie3 jin4 ke3 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) distant water does not cure present thirst; metaphorically urgent need
  • a slow remedy does not address immediate needs

Simplified Characters

远 水 不 解 近 渴

Traditional Characters

遠 水 不 解 近 渴

Pinyin

yuan3 shui3 bu4 jie3 jin4 ke3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

远yuan3far 水shui3surname Shui 不bu4(negative prefix) 解jie3surname Xie 近jin4near 渴ke3thirsty