缘木求鱼

緣木求魚

yuánmùqiúyú

idiom

Meanings

1 climbing a tree to catch fish
2 pursuing a goal by entirely the wrong method

Characters

Examples

用这种方法解决问题，简直是缘木求鱼。

Yòng zhè zhǒng fāngfǎ jiějué wèntí, jiǎnzhí shì yuánmùqiúyú.

Using this method to solve the problem is like climbing a tree to catch fish.

想通过赌博致富，无异于缘木求鱼。

Xiǎng tōngguò dǔbó zhìfù, wú yì yú yuánmùqiúyú.

Trying to get rich by gambling is no different from climbing a tree for fish.

Tips

history

From 《孟子·梁惠王上》: Mencius told King Xuan of Qi that trying to win the world by force was like 缘木求鱼 — climbing a tree to look for fish. Worse, even that would yield no harm, while the king's misguided ambition could ruin his state.

Stroke Order

缘 yuán

木 mù

求 qiú

鱼 yú