蜻蜓點水

Chinese

		dragonfly	point; dot; (decimal) point point; dot; (decimal) point; o'clock; (measure word)	water; river
trad. (蜻蜓點水)		蜻蜓	點	水
simp. (蜻蜓点水)		蜻蜓	点	水
Literally: “dragonflies dipping on water”.

Etymology

From the observed behavior of dragonflies mating by the water.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): qīngtíngdiǎnshuǐ

(Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄥㄊㄧㄥˊ ㄉㄧㄢˇ ㄕㄨㄟˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): cing¹ ting⁴ dim² seoi²

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: qīngtíngdiǎnshuǐ [Phonetic: qīngtíngdiánshuǐ]
  - Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄥㄊㄧㄥˊ ㄉㄧㄢˇ ㄕㄨㄟˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: cingtíngdiǎnshuěi
  - Wade–Giles: chʻing¹-tʻing²-tien³-shui³
  - Yale: chīng-tíng-dyǎn-shwěi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chingtyngdeanshoei
  - Palladius: цинтиндяньшуй (cintindjanʹšuj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ tʰiŋ³⁵ ti̯ɛn²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: cing¹ ting⁴ dim² seoi²
  - Yale: chīng tìhng dím séui
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tsing¹ ting⁴ dim² soey²
  - Guangdong Romanization: qing¹ ting⁴ dim² sêu²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ tʰɪŋ²¹ tiːm³⁵ sɵy̯³⁵/

Idiom

蜻蜓點水

(figuratively) to do something on a cursory level; to take a shallow dive