缘木求鱼 （緣木求魚）yuán mù qiú yú
“To climb a tree looking for fish,” a fruitless approach.
I like the way this rhymes, really rolls off the tongue. There is also a longer version that starts with 守株待兔 shǒuzhūdàitù, “to guard a tree stump waiting for rabbits.” So next time someone’s got a real bad plan you can casually tell them your opinion with the perfect chengyu.
“To climb a tree looking for fish,” a fruitless approach.
I like the way this rhymes, really rolls off the tongue. There is also a longer version that starts with 守株待兔 shǒuzhūdàitù, “to guard a tree stump waiting for rabbits.” So next time someone’s got a real bad plan you can casually tell them your opinion with the perfect chengyu.