杯水车薪 (bēi shuǐ chē xīn) — a drop in the bucket; utterly inadequate measure or effort
Definition
A chengyu meaning an effort is so tiny it's useless against a huge problem — like 'a drop in the bucket' or 'throwing a cup of water on a cartload of burning wood'.
idiom
a drop in the bucketutterly inadequate measure or effort
Examples
- ，杯水车薪。Duì yú zhè me dà de zhài wù, tā juān de qián zhǐ shì bēi shuǐ chē xīn.For such a huge debt, the money he donated is just a drop in the bucket.
- ，杯水车薪。Zhè xiē cuò shī suī rán hǎo, dàn duì jiě jué gēn běn wèn tí lái shuō hái shì bēi shuǐ chē xīn.Although these measures are good, they are still utterly inadequate for solving the fundamental problem.
- ，杯水车薪。Měi tiān zhī bèi shí gè dān cí, duì yú zhǔn bèi kǎo shì lái shuō jiǎn zhí shì bēi shuǐ chē xīn.Memorizing only ten words a day is simply a drop in the bucket for exam preparation.
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