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半桶水

bàn tǒng shuǐdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(coll.) (of one's skills, knowledge etc) limited / superficial / half-baked / sb with a smattering of knowledge (of sth) / dabbler
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-25f6ab5a155fcaf5. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

半桶水 半桶水 [ban4 tong3 shui3] /(coll.) (of one's skills, knowledge etc) limited/superficial/half-baked/sb with a smattering of knowledge (of sth)/dabbler/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

  • 半
    bàn

    half / semi- / incomplete / (after a number) and a half

  • 桶
    tǒng

    bucket / barrel / keg / classifier for bucketfuls, barrelfuls etc

  • 水
    shuǐ

    water / (after a name) ... River / to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[huì shuǐ] and 水性[shuǐ xìng]) / (coll.) lacking in substance / shoddy / (bound form) additional cost / extra income / classifier for washings of a garment

    Shuǐ

    surname Shui / Shui ethnic group

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.