手无寸铁

手無寸鐵

shǒuwú-cùntiě

idiom #14,254

Meanings

1 unarmed
2 defenseless
3 completely without weapons

Characters

Examples

HSK 6

警察对手无寸铁的平民开了枪。

Jǐngchá duì shǒuwú-cùntiě de píngmín kāi le qiāng.

The police fired at unarmed civilians.

HSK 7-9

他手无寸铁，根本无法反抗。

Tā shǒuwú-cùntiě, gēnběn wúfǎ fǎnkàng.

He was completely unarmed and had no way to resist.

Tips

memory

手 (hand) 无 (without) 寸 (an inch of) 铁 (iron/steel) - hands without even an inch of steel, i.e. totally unarmed.

Stroke Order

手 shǒu

无 wú

寸 cùn

铁 tiě