刻舟求剑
Traditional form:
刻舟求劍
Pinyin (reading):
kèzhōuqiújiàn
Definitions:
- lit. a notch on the side of a boat to locate a sword dropped overboard (idiom); fig. an action made pointless by changed circumstances
Characters:
- 刻 - to carve, to engrave; a quarter hour; a moment
- 舟 - boat, ship
- 求 - to seek; to request, to demand; to beseech, to beg for
- 剑 - sword, dagger, saber
Traditional characters: