弹丸之地

彈丸之地

dànwánzhīdì

idiom #88,279

Meanings

1 a tiny speck of land
2 a very small territory; a pellet-sized place

Characters

Examples

新加坡是弹丸之地，却是国际金融中心。

Xīnjiāpō shì dànwán zhī dì, què shì guójì jīnróng zhōngxīn.

Singapore is a speck of land but an international financial center.

这块弹丸之地竟然藏着千年古迹。

Zhè kuài dànwán zhī dì jìngrán cángzhe qiānnián gǔjì.

This tiny patch of land surprisingly holds millennia-old relics.

Tips

history

From 《史记·平原君虞卿列传》: '此弹丸之地弗予' (not to surrender even this pellet of land). 弹丸 originally means a slingshot pellet or small iron ball — hence the image of a pebble-sized territory.

Stroke Order

弹 dàn

丸 wán

之 zhī

地 dì