a drop in the bucket
焼け石に水
解説 Definition
必要な量に比べてごくわずかで、ほとんど効果のない量のこと。焼け石に水。
This idiom means a very small amount compared with what is needed. It is used when an action, payment, or improvement helps only a little and does not solve the bigger problem. It often suggests that more effort or resources are still necessary.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
drop と bucket をそのまま絵で覚えるのが最短です。バケツ一杯ぶん必要なのに、入ったのはたった1滴だけ、と想像すると『全体から見ればほぼ無視できる量』が定着します。特に money, aid, budget cut など、必要額や不足分が大きい話で使われやすく、small amount よりも『少なすぎて状況がほとんど変わらない』響きが強いです。単に“少ない”ではなく、何か大きな必要量との比較が前提になる点も意識すると使い分けやすくなります。似た表現の drop in the ocean も同系統なので、セットで覚えると迷いません。
Picture a big bucket that needs a lot of water, but only one drop falls into it. That image helps you feel why the amount is far too small to matter. It often appears with money, aid, or budgets, where the need is much bigger than the help.
例文
The donation was generous, but compared to the total cost of the project, it was just a drop in the bucket.
その寄付は気前のよいものだったが、プロジェクトの総費用に比べれば焼け石に水だった。
Recycling a few bottles is a drop in the bucket when it comes to solving the global waste crisis.
数本のボトルをリサイクルしても、世界のごみ問題の解決には焼け石に水だ。
His weekly savings were a drop in the bucket compared with the mountain of debt he had accumulated.
彼の毎週の貯金は、積み上がった借金の山に比べれば焼け石に水だった。
a drop in the bucket の類義語・関連語
類義語
紛らわしい語
a drop in the bucket の語源・成り立ち Etymology
drop は古英語 dropa、bucket は古フランス語 buquet を経た語で、句全体は『イザヤ書』の a drop in the bucket にさかのぼります。バケツ一杯に一滴では無視できる量なので、「全体から見ればごくわずか」という意味になります。関連語は drip、droplet。
Drop comes from Old English dropa, and bucket came through Old French from a Germanic source. The whole expression is very old and is often linked to the biblical image in Isaiah of a drop in a bucket. Since one drop makes almost no difference to a full bucket, the phrase came to mean a very small amount compared with the whole. Related words include drip and droplet.
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