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刻舟求劍 (Kèzhōuqiújiàn)


Daimashin

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刻舟求劍 (Kèzhōuqiújiàn) - Foolish or stupid.

刻舟 (Kèzhōu) - Carve or mark boat, 求劍 (qiújiàn) - Seeking sword

Once upon a time there was a man who came across a woodsman while walking. The man saw the woodsman took out a piece of cloth and tied it to the tree he was chopping. The man asked the woodsman as to the reason the woodsman did that. The woodsman told the man that it's used to mark the tree so that he can come back later and hack at the same spot.

Later that day the same man was riding a boat, while standing the boat rocked and his sword fell into the river. The boatman said, "The current is very strong here and the river is deep. How are you supposed to get back your sword?" The man then answered, "Not to worry, I have just the plan." The man took out something and marked a cross on the boat and asked the boatman to carry on.

After the boat arrived at the pier, the man started to look for his sword. "The river is much more shallow, I should be able to find my sword here based on the spot that I marked." He jumped into the river but failed to find his sword. The boatman then laughed and said, "Your sword fell at the center of the river, not here. How can you expect to find your sword at a completely different place!"

刻舟求劍 (Kèzhōuqiújiàn) is used to mock someone that is foolish and does silly things.

Example:

"什麼, 你在外面丟了錢包在這裡找?你這樣就是「刻舟求劍」, 笨蛋!"

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