Gak-ju-gu-geom

刻

새길 각

舟

배 주

求

구할 구

劍

칼 검

Character by character

Meaning

Notching the boat to find the sword — clinging to an old method after things have moved on.

Origin

From the Lüshi Chunqiu: a man dropped his sword in the river, cut a mark on the gunwale, and searched below it once the boat had stopped.

How it is used

Used when the situation has changed but the old approach is kept.

Hanja刻舟求劍

Simplified刻舟求剑

Korean reading각주구검

Pinyinkè zhōu qiú jiàn

Frequently asked questions

Q. What does Gak-ju-gu-geom mean?

刻舟求劍 · Notching the boat to find the sword — clinging to an old method after things have moved on.

Q. Where does Gak-ju-gu-geom come from?

From the Lüshi Chunqiu: a man dropped his sword in the river, cut a mark on the gunwale, and searched below it once the boat had stopped.

Q. How is Gak-ju-gu-geom used?

Used when the situation has changed but the old approach is kept.

Idioms in the same group

刮目相對 Gwal-mok-sang-daeRub your eyes and look again — someone’s ability has grown astonishingly.敎學相長 Gyo-hak-sang-jangTeaching and learning grow each other.多多益善 Da-da-ik-seonThe more, the better.聞一知十 Mun-il-ji-sipHear one thing and know ten — exceptional quickness of mind.格物致知 Gyeong-mul-chi-jiInvestigate things to reach knowledge.學而時習 Hak-i-si-seupLearn, and practise it in due time.

The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.