📖 Meaning
Like water thrown onto a stone, absolutely nothing penetrates. It describes speech or advice that falls completely on deaf ears, producing no effect whatsoever. The idiom emphasizes the total futility of trying to communicate when the listener is utterly unreceptive.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Song Dynasty philosopher Yang Shi's work Gui Shan Yu Lu (龟山语录). Yang Shi recorded that his fellow disciple Xie Xiandao (谢显道) was honest and sincere, but his quickness of understanding could not match that of their teacher. The Neo-Confucian master Cheng Hao (程颢), also known as Mingdao (明道), once remarked that while Yang Shi was clever and perceptive, Xie Xiandao was like water thrown onto stone — meaning teachings did not easily penetrate his mind. Even so, Cheng Hao never failed to acknowledge Xie's good character and virtues.
💡 Example Usage
无论怎么劝他，都如水投石，毫无效果。
No matter how I tried to persuade him, it was like water thrown on stone — completely ineffective.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 如水投石
- Pinyin: rú shǔ tóu shí
- Literal Translation: like, water, throw, stone
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4