What does the Chinese idiom 刻舟求剑 mean?

刻舟求剑 (kè zhōu qiú jiàn) literally means “carve the boat to look for the sword.” 舟 is an old word for boat and 求 means to seek. It is said of someone who sticks to an old method without seeing that things have changed.

What is the moral of Marking the Boat to Find the Sword?

Things change, so we have to look at what is happening now and adjust. The boat kept moving but the sword stayed where it fell, so a mark on the boat could never lead the man back to it.

Where does the story of 刻舟求剑 come from?

It comes from the Lüshi Chunqiu, a book compiled for Lü Buwei of the state of Qin at the end of the Warring States period, in the chapter “Examining the Present.” There it is a short anecdote used to argue that a state should not be run by clinging to old laws.

What does 遽契其舟 mean in the original text?

遽 (jù) means hurriedly or at once, and 契 (qì) means to carve with a knife. So 遽契其舟 means “at once he cut a mark on the boat.”

How do you pronounce 刻舟求剑?

kè zhōu qiú jiàn: fourth tone, first tone, second tone, fourth tone.

Marking the Boat to Find the Sword (刻舟求剑)

Ages 4–8
English audio 2 min
Mandarin audio 3 min

Marking the Boat to Find the Sword is a classic story from Chinese Idiom Stories for Kids, for children aged 4–8. This page has the English story with a native English narration (about 2 min), plus the Chinese version with Mandarin narration (about 3 min). Free to read and listen, no sign-up.

A man drops his sword into a river, cuts a mark on the moving boat, and jumps in under the mark once the boat lands. The idiom story 刻舟求剑 in English and Chinese, with narration.

0:001:29

Tap any sentence in the story to start reading from there. It stops at the end.

Record about a minute of your voice, and every story here can be read to your child in it. Credits come back automatically if it fails.

Read Marking the Boat to Find the Sword

Long ago, in the land of Chu, a man wanted to cross a wide river. He took a boat. He had a fine sword, and he loved it very much.

The boatman pushed the boat away from the shore. The river was wide, and the water moved fast. The man stood at the side of the boat. He looked at the hills, and he looked at the fish.

Suddenly the boat rocked. Splash! His sword slipped and fell into the water. In a moment, it was gone.

"Oh no! Your sword!" cried the other people. But the man did not worry. He took out a small knife and cut a mark on the side of the boat.

"What are you doing?" they asked. "My sword fell in here," he said. "When the boat stops, I will jump in at this mark and find it."

The boat went on and on. At last it stopped by the shore. The man jumped into the water, right under his mark. He looked and looked. He found a stone. He found some weeds. But he did not find his sword.

"How strange!" he said. "It fell in right here!"

The boatman smiled. "Our boat kept moving," he said, "but your sword did not. It is still back in the middle of the river."

The man looked back at the wide river. At last he understood.

The Chinese version: 刻舟求剑

很久很久以前，楚国有一个人，要坐船到大江的对岸去。他身上带着一把宝剑，剑鞘亮闪闪的，剑柄上还系着红穗子。这是他最心爱的宝贝，走到哪儿都带着。

船夫解开绳子，撑起长长的竹篙，小船慢慢离开了岸边。江面很宽，江水哗哗地往前流。楚国人站在船边，看看远处的青山，又看看水里的小鱼，心里美滋滋的。

忽然，船轻轻一晃。“扑通！”他腰上的宝剑滑了下来，一下子掉进了江里。水面上的波纹一圈一圈散开，宝剑转眼就不见了。

船上的人都叫起来：“哎呀，剑掉下去了！快想想办法呀！”楚国人却一点儿也不着急。他掏出一把小刀，就在宝剑掉下去的那块船板上，用力刻了一道深深的记号。

大家看了，都很奇怪：“你刻这个干什么？”他拍拍那道记号，得意地说：“我的剑就是从这儿掉下去的。等船停了，我从记号这里下水，一定能把它找回来。”

小船继续往前走。过了好一会儿，船才靠了岸。楚国人连忙脱下外衣，对准船边那道记号，“扑通”一声跳进水里。岸边的水不深，他弯着腰，在水底摸呀摸，摸了这边，又摸那边。

他摸到了一块圆圆的石头，又摸到了一把滑溜溜的水草，可是宝剑呢？连个影子也没有。他湿淋淋地爬上船，挠着头说：“奇怪，明明是从这儿掉下去的呀！”

船夫笑着指了指身后的江面：“客人，船一直在往前走，可是你的剑掉进水里，就再也没有动过。它还躺在江中间呢，怎么会跟着船跑到这儿来？”楚国人回头望着宽宽的江水，这才红着脸明白过来。

Marking the Boat to Find the Sword (刻舟求剑): the moral of the story

Things keep changing, and our plans have to change with them. The boat moved on while the sword stayed put, so the old mark was no use.

What does Marking the Boat to Find the Sword mean?: Literally “carve the boat, seek the sword”: 刻 (kè) carve, 舟 (zhōu) boat, 求 (qiú) look for, 剑 (jiàn) sword. It describes someone who sticks rigidly to an old method and doesn’t notice that the situation has changed, like looking for a sword by a mark on a boat that has moved on.
Example sentence: My little sister’s feet had grown, but Mom was still buying her shoes in last year’s size. Dad laughed: “That’s a bit 刻舟求剑 (kè zhōu qiú jiàn), isn’t it? Her feet have moved on.”

The original Chinese text of Marking the Boat to Find the Sword

楚人有涉江者，其剑自舟中坠于水，遽契其舟，曰：“是吾剑之所从坠。”舟止，从其所契者入水求之。舟已行矣，而剑不行，求剑若此，不亦惑乎？

— 《吕氏春秋·察今》

Our translation

A man of Chu was crossing a river when his sword fell from the boat into the water. At once he cut a mark on the boat and said, “This is where my sword fell in.” When the boat stopped, he went into the water at the place he had marked to look for it. The boat had moved on, but the sword had not. Isn’t it foolish to look for a sword like this?

— Lüshi Chunqiu (The Annals of Lü Buwei), “Examining the Present” (3rd century BC)

Chinese words in Marking the Boat to Find the Sword

Play the Chinese narration and listen for these words. The pinyin shows the tones.

刻舟求剑kè zhōu qiú jiàn
carve the boat to look for the sword
宝剑bǎo jiàn
sword (a fine, treasured one)
船chuán
boat
船夫chuán fū
boatman
江jiāng
river
小刀xiǎo dāo
small knife
岸边àn biān
shore, riverbank
奇怪qí guài
strange

Bedtime storytelling tips

When the sword falls in, say a soft “Splash!”, pause, and let your child guess: “How do you think he’ll find it?”
When the man cuts his mark, draw a little line on the back of your child’s hand with your finger: that is the mark on the boat.
Afterward, try a small experiment: put a toy on the floor as the sword, draw a mark on a box as the boat, push the box along, and see whether the mark still lines up with the toy.

Things to talk about afterwards

What did the man do after his sword fell into the water?
When the boat reached the shore, why couldn’t he find the sword under his mark?
If you dropped something into a river from a boat, how would you remember where it fell?

Read this story to your child in your own voice

Record your voice and confirm it's really you
Pick any story, in English or Chinese
A few minutes later, hear it in your voice; you can also download the MP3

From about $1.05 a story, or $1.99 for a first-order taster. Reading and listening are always free, and failed generations are refunded.

Read it in my voice See pricing

Marking the Boat to Find the Sword (刻舟求剑): common questions

What does the Chinese idiom 刻舟求剑 mean?: 刻舟求剑 (kè zhōu qiú jiàn) literally means “carve the boat to look for the sword.” 舟 is an old word for boat and 求 means to seek. It is said of someone who sticks to an old method without seeing that things have changed.
What is the moral of Marking the Boat to Find the Sword?: Things change, so we have to look at what is happening now and adjust. The boat kept moving but the sword stayed where it fell, so a mark on the boat could never lead the man back to it.
Where does the story of 刻舟求剑 come from?: It comes from the Lüshi Chunqiu, a book compiled for Lü Buwei of the state of Qin at the end of the Warring States period, in the chapter “Examining the Present.” There it is a short anecdote used to argue that a state should not be run by clinging to old laws.
What does 遽契其舟 mean in the original text?: 遽 (jù) means hurriedly or at once, and 契 (qì) means to carve with a knife. So 遽契其舟 means “at once he cut a mark on the boat.”
How do you pronounce 刻舟求剑?: kè zhōu qiú jiàn: fourth tone, first tone, second tone, fourth tone.

Source and how we retold it

From the Lüshi Chunqiu, chapter “Examining the Present” (察今). The book was compiled at the end of the Warring States period by scholars working for Lü Buwei of Qin, and the original is in the public domain. The original tells the story in a few lines and ends with a question: “Isn’t it foolish to look for a sword like this?” It uses the story to argue that a state should not be run by clinging to old laws. We expanded it into a story for children, adding the other passengers’ comments, the boatman explaining that the sword is still in the middle of the river, and the man finally understanding.

The narration on this page is AI-generated: the English is read by 英伦绅士 and the Chinese by 温柔妈妈. The audio files are labeled as AI-generated.

If you liked Marking the Boat to Find the Sword (刻舟求剑), there are more stories in Chinese Idiom Stories for Kids. You can also read this one to your child in your own voice.