铁杵 (tiě chǔ) — iron pestle (a tool for pounding); symbol of perseverance (from the idiom 铁杵磨成针)

Definition

Literally 'iron pestle' (a pounding tool), now used almost entirely as a symbol of perseverance, from the famous idiom 铁杵磨成针 ('grind an iron pestle into a needle').

noun
iron pestle (a tool for pounding)symbol of perseverance (from the idiom 铁杵磨成针)
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 铁杵。
    Gǔ dài de yào gōng cháng yòng tiě chǔ lái dǎo suì yào cái.
    Ancient medicine workers often used iron pestles to crush medicinal herbs.
  • ，铁杵。
    Zhǐ yào gōng fu shēn, tiě chǔ yě néng mó chéng zhēn.
    With enough effort, even an iron pestle can be ground into a needle.
  • 铁杵，。
    Tā xiàng tiě chǔ yí yàng, yòng yì lì bǎ bù kě néng biàn chéng le kě néng.
    Like an iron pestle, he turned the impossible into the possible through perseverance.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

铁tiěiron
杵chǔpounding tool

铁 means iron, 杵 means a pounding tool, together an iron pestle.

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 鐵; 铁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢧤
𢧤𢧤鐵tiě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鐵 pairs 金 (metal) with 𢧤 as a sound part; the simplified 铁 is a later shorthand.

Open 铁 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

杵 pairs 木 (wood) with 午 (pestle), showing a wooden pestle.

Open 杵 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.