海底捞针
海底捞针 (hǎi dǐ lāo zhēn) literally means “sea bottom dredge needle” and expresses “attempt an extremely difficult search”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving success and perseverance.
Also searched as: hai di lao zhen, hai di lao zhen,海底捞针 meaning, 海底捞针 in english
Attempt an extremely difficult search
Pronunciation: hǎi dǐ lāo zhēn Literal meaning: Sea bottom dredge needle
Origin & Usage
To dredge (捞) for a needle (针) at the bottom of the sea (海底). The commoner form is 大海捞针. What makes the image work is the mismatch of dimensions rather than mere difficulty — the search space is effectively unbounded and the target is the smallest metal object a household owns, so the task is not hard but structurally hopeless. Investigations, lost files, and looking for one person in a large city.
Examples
English: "Finding the specific document among millions of unorganized files seemed impossible"
Chinese: 在数百万个无组织的文件中找到特定文档似乎是不可能的
Related Chinese Idioms
Similar idioms about success & perseverance
铁杵成针
tiě chǔ chéng zhēn
Success through persistence
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釜底抽薪
fǔ dǐ chōu xīn
Eliminate root cause of problem
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井底之蛙
jǐng dǐ zhī wā
Narrow-minded from limited experience
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归根到底
guī gēn dào dǐ
Fundamentally or in the final analysis
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针锋相对
zhēn fēng xiāng duì
Sharp, direct confrontation in argument
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一针见血
yī zhēn jiàn xiě
Hit the nail on the head; incisive
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如坐针毡
rú zuò zhēn zhān
Extreme discomfort
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精卫填海
jīng wèi tián hǎi
Persist despite impossibility
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does 海底捞针 mean in English?
海底捞针 (hǎi dǐ lāo zhēn) literally translates to “Sea bottom dredge needle” and is used to express “Attempt an extremely difficult search”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Success & Perseverance category.
When is 海底捞针 used?
Situation: Finding the specific document among millions of unorganized files seemed impossible
What is the pinyin for 海底捞针?
The pinyin pronunciation for 海底捞针 is “hǎi dǐ lāo zhēn”.