隔靴搔痒

隔靴搔癢

géxuē-sāoyǎng

idiom

Meanings

1 to scratch an itch from outside the boot
2 to address an issue superficially; ineffective; beside the point

Characters

separated by; across

Examples

这项政策治标不治本，简直是隔靴搔痒。

Zhèxiàng zhèngcè zhìbiāo bù zhìběn, jiǎnzhí shì géxuēsāoyǎng.

This policy treats the symptom not the cause — it's like scratching an itch through a boot.

他的批评隔靴搔痒，根本没说到关键。

Tā de pīpíng géxuēsāoyǎng, gēnběn méi shuō dào guānjiàn.

His criticism missed the point entirely — pure surface stuff.

光改文字不改制度，等于隔靴搔痒。

Guāng gǎi wénzì bù gǎi zhìdù, děngyú géxuēsāoyǎng.

Changing only the wording without reforming the system is just scratching through a boot.

Tips

history

From Yan Yu's (严羽) Song-dynasty poetics treatise 《沧浪诗话·诗法》: '意贵透澈，不可隔靴搔痒' — 'meaning should be penetrating, never like scratching an itch through a boot.' Originally a poetics metaphor, now general.

memory

Literal image is almost physical: your foot itches inside a boot and you scratch the leather outside — you can feel the effort, the itch feels nothing. Perfect for 'lots of motion, no effect.'

Stroke Order

隔 gé

靴 xuē

搔 sāo

痒 yǎng