舟に刻みて剣を求む

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Japanese

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Kanji in this term
ふね
Grade: S
きざ
Grade: 6
けん
Grade: S
もと
Grade: 4
kun'yomi kun'yomi on'yomi kun'yomi
Alternative spellings
舟に刻みて劍を求む (kyūjitai)
船に刻みて剣を求む

Etymology

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Literally, to carve a mark on a ship (where a sword was dropped into the sea) in the hope of finding the sword later near that carving. Calque of Literary Chinese 刻舟求劍 (kèzhōuqiújiàn).

Idiom

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(ふね)(きざ)みて(けん)(もと) (fune ni kizamite ken o motomu

  1. (figuratively) Foolish it is to ignore that times are changing.

References

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