futile approach; useless effort
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesverb
to climb a tree to catch fish; to adopt a futile approach; to use wrong methods to achieve a goal
literaryClassical idiom derived from Mencius (《孟子·梁惠王上》): "以若所为，求若所欲，犹缘木而求鱼也。" Used to describe methods or approaches that are fundamentally flawed, ignoring objective laws, and bound to fail.
Bù不
gù顾
kè客
guān观
guī规
lǜ律
，
yī一
wèi味
mán蛮
gàn干
，
wú无
yì异
yú于
yuán缘
mù木
qiú求
yú鱼
。
Ignoring objective laws and acting recklessly is no different from climbing a tree to catch fish.
Yòng用
zhè这
zhǒng种
fāng方
fǎ法
jiě解
jué决
wèn问
tí题
，
jiǎn简
zhí直
shì是
yuán缘
mù木
qiú求
yú鱼
。
Using this method to solve the problem is simply adopting a futile approach.
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Nǐ你
xiǎng想
zài在
tā他
nà那
lǐ里
dé得
dào到
bāng帮
zhù助
，
jiǎn简
zhí直
shì是
yuán缘
mù木
qiú求
yú鱼
。
Trying to get help from him is like climbing a tree to catch fish—utterly futile.