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

HSK 6

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.

HSK 7-9

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.

HSK 7-9

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