远水救不了近火 in English yuan3 shui3 jiu4 bu5 liao3 jin4 huo3 Meaning

Meanings

  • water in a distant place is of little use in putting out a fire right here
  • (metaphorically) a slow remedy does not address the current emergency

Simplified Characters

远 水 救 不 了 近 火

Traditional Characters

遠 水 救 不 了 近 火

Pinyin

yuan3 shui3 jiu4 bu5 liao3 jin4 huo3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

远yuan3far 水shui3surname Shui 救jiu4variant of 救[jiu4] 不bu4(negative prefix) 了le5(completed action marker) 近jin4near 火huo3surname Huo