揚湯止沸

Simplified: 扬汤止沸

yángtāngzhǐfèi ㄧㄤˊ ㄊㄤ ㄓˇ ㄈㄟˋ

    • to try to stop boiling by scooping up hot water
    • a stopgap that doesn't solve the problem

Character by character

Sources