杯水车薪 bēi shuǐ chē xīn — a cup of water to put out a cartload of burning faggots; utterly inadequate

杯水车薪
bēi shuǐ chē xīn

Characters: 杯 · 水 · 车 · 薪

Definitions

  1. a cup of water to put out a cartload of burning faggots; utterly inadequate

More definitions

CC-CEDICT

  1. lit. a cup of water on a burning cart of firewood (idiom)
  2. fig. an utterly inadequate measure

ExtDict

  1. 用一杯水去救一车着了火的柴草。比喻力量太小，解决不了问题。

Examples

  • 这点捐款对救灾来说不过是杯水车薪。

    This donation is but a drop in the bucket for the relief effort.

  • 靠他一个人解决经费，无异于杯水车薪。

    Relying on him alone to cover the funds is utterly inadequate.