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坚不可摧 (jiān bù kě cuī) — indestructible, unbreakable, impregnable (of a fortress, will, or relationship)

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'firm and cannot be destroyed' — used for strong things like fortresses, wills, and relationships. More emphatic and literary than simply saying something is 坚固 or 结实的.

idiom
indestructibleunbreakableimpregnable (of a fortress, will, or relationship)

Examples

  • 坚不可摧。
    Tā men zhī jiān de yǒu yì jiān bù kě cuī.
    The friendship between them is unbreakable.
  • 坚不可摧，。
    Zhè zuò gǔ chéng qiáng jiān bù kě cuī, jīng lì le jǐ bǎi nián fēng yǔ.
    This ancient city wall is indestructible, having weathered centuries of wind and rain.
  • 坚不可摧。
    Tā duì lǐ xiǎng de xìn niàn jiān bù kě cuī.
    His faith in his ideals is unshakable.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 堅; 坚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
臤
臤qiān堅jiān
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 堅 pairs 臤, giving the sound, with 土, earth, giving the sense; the simplified 坚 is a later shorthand.

Open 坚 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo可kě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

可 pairs 口 (mouth) with 丂 as a sound part; it is tied to air from the mouth, perhaps singing.

Open 可 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
崔
崔cuī摧cuī
Same sound today

摧 uses 扌, the hand form, to mark an action done with the hand, and 崔 to give its sound.

Open 摧 →
Appears in
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