无坚不摧 (wú jiān bù cuī) — invincible; all-conquering; capable of destroying any stronghold

Definition

Literally 'nothing hard cannot be crushed': an idiom for an unstoppable, all-conquering force. Stronger and more literary than everyday words like 厉害 or 强大.

idiom
invincibleall-conqueringcapable of destroying any stronghold

Examples

  • 无坚不摧，。
    Zhè zhī jūn duì wú jiān bù cuī, dǎ biàn le zhěng gè dà lù.
    This army is invincible, having fought across the entire continent.
  • 无坚不摧，。
    Tā píng jiè wú jiān bù cuī de yì zhì, wán chéng le bù kě néng de rèn wu.
    With an indomitable will, he accomplished the impossible task.
  • 无坚不摧，。
    Zhè zhī duì wu wú jiān bù cuī, rèn hé kùn nan dōu wú fǎ zǔ dǎng tā men.
    This team is all-conquering; no difficulty can stop them.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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
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 →

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