杯水車薪

lit. a cup of water on a burning cart of firewood (idiom); fig. an utterly inadequate measure

Characters and words in 杯水車薪

cup / trophy cup / classifier for certain containers of liquids: glass, cup

= + : Beelzebub (b) won a trophy cup (杯) for his amazing Christmas tree (木). Actually, it was forbidden to log trees in front of the Eiffel Tower (ei1); but Beelzebub didn't care and took the tree anyway. He even took the forbidden sign (不) as well, and as he receives his trophy cup he uses the forbidden sign as a tablet to put the trophy cup on.
variant of 杯[bei1]

= + : Beelzebub (b) won a trophy cup (杯) for his amazing Christmas tree (木). Actually, it was forbidden to log trees in front of the Eiffel Tower (ei1); but Beelzebub didn't care and took the tree anyway. He even took the forbidden sign (不) as well, and as he receives his trophy cup he uses the forbidden sign as a tablet to put the trophy cup on.
variant of 杯[bei1] / trophy cup / classifier for certain containers of liquids: glass, cup

= + : Beelzebub (b) won a trophy cup (杯) for his amazing Christmas tree (木). Actually, it was forbidden to log trees in front of the Eiffel Tower (ei1); but Beelzebub didn't care and took the tree anyway. He even took the forbidden sign (不) as well, and as he receives his trophy cup he uses the forbidden sign as a tablet to put the trophy cup on.
surname Shui
water / river / liquid / beverage / additional charges or income / (of clothes) classifier for number of washes

= + + 丿 + : Sheldon Shrimp just climbed the Eiffel Tower. He's really thirsty, so he's glad to find a water fountain. After he quenches his thirst, he also finds a snack: A banana is swimming in the water. He never ate a banana before, so he tries a mix of different methods: Putting on a fake beak to pick on the banana, holding it with a finger and peeling it with a crowbar.
surname Che
car / vehicle / CL:輛|辆[liang4] / machine / to shape with a lathe / Kangxi radical 159

= + : Charlie Chaplin (ch) is parading in a cabriolet (mnemonic symbol for 车) in front of the elevator (e1), because he wants to establish his new cult. Like all successful leaders, he takes the carrot-and-stick approach: In one hand he's waving with a seven-branched laser sword (七), in the other one he's waving with a cross (十).
war chariot (archaic) / rook (in Chinese chess) / rook (in chess)
fuel / salary

= + : Marie Curie (xi) received her salary (薪) in front of the encampment ((e)n1) which consists of a set of completely new (新) sheets of artificial lawn (艹). Unfortunately they catch fire and prove to be the ideal fuel (薪) for a quickly burning fire: the artificial lawn is burning down within seconds.

Words with 杯水車薪

杯水車薪 is not used as a component in another word.

Sentences with 杯水車薪

杯水車薪 currently does not appear in any sentence.