杯水车薪

杯水車薪

bēishuǐ-chēxīn

idiom #39,476

Meanings

1 a cup of water against a cartload of burning firewood
2 hopelessly inadequate; a drop in the bucket

Characters

Examples

这点捐款对灾区来说只是杯水车薪。

Zhè diǎn juānkuǎn duì zāiqū láishuō zhǐshì bēishuǐchēxīn.

This small donation is just a drop in the bucket for the disaster zone.

加班一小时，对进度来说杯水车薪。

Jiābān yī xiǎoshí, duì jìndù láishuō bēishuǐchēxīn.

An hour of overtime is utterly inadequate for the schedule.

靠这点工资还贷，杯水车薪。

Kào zhè diǎn gōngzī huándài, bēishuǐchēxīn.

Paying off the loan on this salary is hopelessly inadequate.

Tips

history

From 《孟子·告子上》: 孟子 compares trying to extinguish a cart of burning firewood with a single cup of water — the problem isn't that water can't beat fire, it's that the amount is absurdly mismatched.

Stroke Order

杯 bēi

水 shuǐ

车 chē

薪 xīn