竹篮打水

using a wicker basket to draw water (idiom); wasted effort

bamboo / CL:棵[ke1],支[zhi1],根[gen1] / Kangxi radical 118

wicker basket

basket (receptacle) / basket (in basketball)

dozen (loanword)

to beat / to strike / to hit / to break / to type / to mix up / to build / to fight / to fetch / to make / to tie up / to issue / to shoot / to calculate / to play (a game) / since / from

to draw water / to splash water

surname Shui

water / river / liquid / beverage / additional charges or income / (of clothes) classifier for number of washes

using a wicker basket to draw water (idiom); wasted effort