铁卧单

鐵臥單
tiěwòdān
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 an unfeeling, cold-hearted person; someone sanctimoniously aloof
  2. 2 (literally) a hard, icy bedsheet

Examples

Tā zhè rén biǎomiàn rényì, qíshí shì ge tiěwòdān.
On the surface he's all righteousness, but underneath he's a cold-hearted piece of work.
Zài gāngqiáng de rén, yù shàng nán shì yě huì juéde tiěwòdānyíyàng bīngliáng.
Even the toughest person, facing hardship, feels a chill like an iron bedsheet.

Tips

memory
Picture sliding into a bed that feels like cold sheet metal. That's the icy detachment the phrase captures — often aimed at self-righteous, emotionally closed people.

Stroke Order

tiě
dān