Definition
杯水车薪 is a four-character idiom (成语) that literally means 'a cup of water to put out a cartload of firewood'. It describes a solution or effort that is far too small to make any real difference to a large problem — like a drop in the bucket. You can use it as a predicate (这个办法简直是杯水车薪) or as an attributive (杯水车薪的措施).
id.
a drop in the bucketutterly inadequate measure or effort
Examples
- ，杯水车薪。Duìyú zhème dà de zhàiwù, 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。Zhèxiē cuòshī suīrán hǎo, dàn duì jiějué gēnběn wèntí lái shuō háishì bēi shuǐ chē xīn.Although these measures are good, they are still utterly inadequate for solving the fundamental problem.
- ，杯水车薪。Měitiān zhǐ bèi shí ge dāncí, duìyú zhǔnbèi kǎoshì lái shuō jiǎnzhí 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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