杯水车薪
bēi shuǐ chē xīn
Pinyin

Definition

杯水车薪
 - 
bēi shuǐ chē xīn
  1. lit. a cup of water on a burning cart of firewood (idiom); fig. an utterly inadequate measure

Related Words (20)

杯
bēi
  1. 1 cup
  2. 2 trophy cup
  3. 3 classifier for certain containers of liquids: glass, cup
水
Shuǐ
  1. 1 surname Shui
水平
shuǐ píng
  1. 1 level (of achievement etc)
  2. 2 standard
  3. 3 horizontal
水果
shuǐ guǒ
  1. 1 fruit
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
水瓶座
Shuǐ píng zuò
  1. 1 Aquarius (constellation and sign of the zodiac)
一头雾水
yī tóu wù shuǐ
  1. 1 to be confused
  2. 2 to be baffled
下水
xià shuǐ
  1. 1 downstream
  2. 2 to go into the water
  3. 3 to put into water
  4. 4 to launch (a ship)
  5. 5 fig. to fall into bad ways
  6. 6 to lead astray
  7. 7 to go to pot
下水道
xià shuǐ dào
  1. 1 sewer
世界杯
Shì jiè bēi
  1. 1 World Cup
干杯
gān bēi
  1. 1 to drink a toast
  2. 2 Cheers! (proposing a toast)
  3. 3 Here's to you!
  4. 4 Bottoms up!
  5. 5 lit. dry cup
冰水
bīng shuǐ
  1. 1 iced water
冷水
lěng shuǐ
  1. 1 cold water
  2. 2 unboiled water
  3. 3 fig. not yet ready (of plans)
出水
chū shuǐ
  1. 1 to discharge water
  2. 2 to appear out of the water
  3. 3 to break the surface
加薪
jiā xīn
  1. 1 to raise salary
化妆水
huà zhuāng shuǐ
  1. 1 skin toner
口水
kǒu shuǐ
  1. 1 saliva
墨水
mò shuǐ
  1. 1 ink
  2. 2 CL:瓶[píng]
山水
Shān shuǐ
  1. 1 Sansui, Japanese company
年薪
nián xīn
  1. 1 annual salary
心如止水
xīn rú zhǐ shuǐ
  1. 1 to be at peace with oneself

Idioms (20)

一清如水
yī qīng rú shuǐ
  1. 1 lit. as clear as water (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. (of officials etc) honest and incorruptible
一碗水端平
yī wǎn shuǐ duān píng
  1. 1 lit. to hold a bowl of water level (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to be impartial
一点水一个泡
yī diǎn shuǐ yī gè pào
  1. 1 honest and trustworthy (idiom)
三个和尚没水喝
sān gè hé shang méi shuǐ hē
  1. 1 lit. three monks have no water to drink (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. everybody's business is nobody's business
  3. 3 (If there is one monk, he will fetch water for himself. If there are two, they will fetch water together. But if there are three or more, none will take it upon himself to fetch water.)
不显山不露水
bù xiǎn shān bù lù shuǐ
  1. 1 lit. to not show the mountain and to not reveal the water (idiom); fig. to hide the key facts
人不可貌相，海水不可斗量
rén bù kě mào xiàng , hǎi shuǐ bù kě dǒu liáng
  1. 1 you can't judge a person by appearance, just as you can't measure the sea with a pint pot (idiom)
人往高处走，水往低处流
rén wǎng gāo chù zǒu , shuǐ wǎng dī chù liú
  1. 1 man seeks his way up just as water seeks its way down (idiom)
  2. 2 one should constantly strive to make progress
似水年华
sì shuǐ nián huá
  1. 1 fleeting years (idiom)
兵来将挡，水来土掩
bīng lái jiàng dǎng , shuǐ lái tǔ yǎn
  1. 1 counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir (idiom); different situations call for different action
  2. 2 to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation
兵来将敌，水来土堰
bīng lái jiàng dí , shuǐ lái tǔ yàn
  1. 1 counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir (idiom); different situations call for different action
  2. 2 to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation
出水芙蓉
chū shuǐ fú róng
  1. 1 as a lotus flower breaking the surface (idiom); surpassingly beautiful (of young lady's face or old gentleman's calligraphy)
十指不沾阳春水
shí zhǐ bù zhān yáng chūn shuǐ
  1. 1 to have no need to fend for oneself (idiom)
  2. 2 to lead a pampered life
半瓶水响叮当
bàn píng shuǐ xiǎng dīng dāng
  1. 1 lit. if you tap a half-empty bottle it makes a sound (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
  3. 3 one who has a little knowledge likes to show off, but one who is truly knowledgeable is modest
厝火积薪
cuò huǒ jī xīn
  1. 1 lit. to put a fire under a pile of firewood (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. hidden danger
  3. 3 imminent danger
吃水不忘掘井人
chī shuǐ bù wàng jué jǐng rén
  1. 1 Drinking the water of a well, one should never forget who dug it. (idiom)
君子之交淡如水
jūn zǐ zhī jiāo dàn rú shuǐ
  1. 1 a gentleman's friendship, insipid as water (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuāng zǐ])
大水冲了龙王庙
dà shuǐ chōng le Lóng Wáng miào
  1. 1 lit. surging waters flooded the Dragon King temple (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to fail to recognize a familiar person
  3. 3 a dispute between close people who fail to recognize each other
好酒贪杯
hào jiǔ tān bēi
  1. 1 fond of the bottle (idiom)
如鱼得水
rú yú dé shuǐ
  1. 1 like a fish back in water (idiom); glad to be back in one's proper surroundings
山明水秀
shān míng shuǐ xiù
  1. 1 lit. verdant hills and limpid water (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. enchanting scenery

Sample Sentences

那都只是杯水车薪，而且还有附加条件。总之事实是世界各国的贫富差距越来越悬殊！
nà dōu zhǐshì bēishuǐchēxīn ，érqiě hái yǒu fùjiātiáojiàn 。zǒngzhī shìshí shì shìjiègèguó de pínfù chājù yuèláiyuè xuán shū ！
That's just a drop in the bucket, and there are strings attached. In the end, the truth is that the gap between rich and poor in every country in the world is getting wider all the time!
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