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蜻蜓点水

蜻蜓點水
qīngtíng-diǎnshuǐ
idiom #47,564

Meanings

  1. 1 a dragonfly skimming the water
  2. 2 to touch on something only superficially
  3. 3 to skim over the surface

Examples

HSK 4
他对这个问题只是蜻蜓点水般地提了一下。
Tā duì zhège wèntí zhǐshì qīngtíng-diǎnshuǐ bān de tí le yíxià.
He only mentioned this issue in passing, barely scratching the surface.
HSK 7-9
学习不能蜻蜓点水，要深入钻研。
Xuéxí bù néng qīngtíng-diǎnshuǐ, yào shēnrù zuānyán.
Studying can't be done superficially; you have to dig in deeply.

Tips

history
From Du Fu's Tang poem 《曲江》: 穿花蛱蝶深深见，点水蜻蜓款款飞 - butterflies vanish into flowers, dragonflies graze the water in slow flight.

Stroke Order

蜻 qīng
蜓 tíng
点 diǎn
水 shuǐ