铁骨铮铮

鐵骨錚錚
tiěgǔ-zhēngzhēng
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 staunch and unyielding
  2. 2 of iron-hard character
  3. 3 with bones of iron that ring like metal

Examples

HSK 7-9
Tā shì yí wèi tiěgǔ-zhēngzhēng de gémìngjiā.
He is a revolutionary of unyielding character.
HSK 7-9
Miànduì wēixié, lǎorén tiěgǔ-zhēngzhēng, háobù tuìràng.
Faced with threats, the old man stood unyielding and gave no ground.

Tips

memory
铮铮 is the onomatopoeia of metal clanging - picture iron bones (铁骨) ringing like a struck blade. The reduplication makes the image vivid and the praise emphatic.
usage
Almost always praise applied to a person's moral fiber: martyrs, principled officials, refusers-to-bend. Never used for physical strength.

Stroke Order

tiě
zhēng