破铜烂铁

破銅爛鐵

pòtónglàntiě

noun #28,308

Meanings

1 worthless junk
2 scrap metal
3 broken odds and ends

Characters

broken; worn out

rotten; worn out; crumbled

Examples

车库里堆满了破铜烂铁，得清理一下了。

Chēkù lǐ duīmǎn le pòtónglàntiě, děi qīnglǐ yīxià le.

The garage is piled up with worthless junk — it needs to be cleaned out.

这些破铜烂铁一点用都没有，扔掉吧。

Zhèxiē pòtónglàntiě yīdiǎn yòng dōu méiyǒu, rēngdiào ba.

This pile of scrap is completely useless — throw it away.

Tips

usage

破铜烂铁 is a colloquial phrase used dismissively to describe old, broken, or worthless objects, not just metal items. It can be used humorously or critically.

Stroke Order

破 pò

铜 tóng

烂 làn

铁 tiě