Word Detail

刻舟求剑

kè zhōu qiú jiàn

lit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiom); fig. an action made pointless by changed circumstances

HSK 7-9 (v3.0)

Examples

这是刻舟求剑。

Zhè shì kèzhōu-qiújiàn.

This is marking the boat to find the sword (taking measures without regard to changes in circumstances).