刻 kè
- Strokes
- 8
- Radical
- 刂 — knife
- Made of
- 亥 12th terrestrial branch 刂 knife
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
刻舟求剑
kèzhōuqiújiàn
to act rigidly without regard to changing circumstances
Characters in this word
舟 zhōu
- Strokes
- 6
- Radical
- 舟 — boat, ship
- How it's built
- Pictograph — a drawing of the thing
剑 jiàn
- Strokes
- 9
- Radical
- 刂 — knife
- Made of
- 佥 all, together, unanimous 刂 knife
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
Example phrases
- 世界早就变了，你还用老办法，这是刻舟求剑。 Shìjiè zǎojiù biàn le, nǐ hái yòng lǎo bànfǎ, zhè shì kèzhōu qiújiàn. The world changed long ago, and you still use old methods: that is clinging rigidly to what no longer fits.
- 他照着十年前的地图找路，真是刻舟求剑。 Tā zhào zhe shí nián qián de dìtú zhǎo lù, zhēn shì kèzhōu qiújiàn. He is finding his way by a map from ten years ago, which is truly rigid and out of touch.
- 老师说，学习方法要变，不能刻舟求剑。 Lǎoshī shuō, xuéxí fāngfǎ yào biàn, bù néng kèzhōu qiújiàn. The teacher said study methods must change; you cannot cling rigidly to what no longer fits.
Related words
- 刻 kè quarter hour (time measure word)
- 立刻 lìkè immediately
- 深刻 shēnkè deep; profound
- 时刻 shíkè moment; all the time
- 此刻 cǐkè at this moment
- 刻 kè to carve
- 片刻 piànkè short moment
- 雕刻 diāokè to carve; carving
- 苛刻 kēkè harsh; exacting
- 刻不容缓 kèbùrónghuǎn urgent; allowing no delay
- 刻画 kèhuà to depict; to portray
- 刻苦 kèkǔ hard-working; assiduous