纸 zhǐ
- Strokes
- 7
- Radical
- 纟 — silk
- Made of
- 纟 silk 氏 clan, family
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
纸上谈兵
zhǐshàngtánbīng
to theorise idly; armchair strategy
Characters in this word
上 shàng
- Strokes
- 3
- Radical
- 一 — one
- Made of
- ⺊ divination 一 one
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
谈 tán
- Strokes
- 10
- Radical
- 讠 — words, speech
- Made of
- 讠 words, speech 炎 flame, blaze
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
Example phrases
- 光在纸上画图不实践，一切都是纸上谈兵。 Guāng zài zhǐshàng huà tú bù shíjiàn, yīqiè dōu shì zhǐshàng tánbīng. If you only draw plans on paper without practising, everything is idle theorising.
- 他学了一年游泳理论，下水还是不会，真是纸上谈兵。 Tā xué le yī nián yóuyǒng lǐlùn, xià shuǐ háishì bú huì, zhēn shì zhǐshàng tánbīng. He studied swimming theory for a whole year but still cannot swim once in the water — pure armchair strategy.
- 没有市场调研，这个方案只不过是纸上谈兵。 Méiyǒu shìchǎng diàoyán, zhège fāng'àn zhǐ bú guò shì zhǐshàng tánbīng. Without market research, this plan is nothing but armchair theorising.
Related words
- 报纸 bàozhǐ newspaper
- 纸 zhǐ paper
- 图纸 túzhǐ blueprint; technical drawing
- 锡纸 xīzhǐ tin foil; aluminium foil
- 纸币 zhǐbì banknote; paper currency
- 车上 chēshang in the car, on the bus
- 地上 dìshang on the ground, on the floor
- 关上 guānshàng to close, to shut
- 楼上 lóushàng upstairs
- 路上 lùshang on the way
- 马上 mǎshàng right away, at once
- 上 shàng on, above; to go up