铜墙铁壁

銅牆鐵壁

tóngqiángtiěbì

idiom #47,352

Meanings

1 copper walls and iron ramparts
2 impenetrable defense
3 an unbreakable barrier

Characters

Examples

这座城堡像铜墙铁壁一样坚固。

Zhè zuò chéngbǎo xiàng tóng qiáng tiě bì yíyàng jiāngù.

This fortress is as solid as a wall of copper and iron.

他们的防守铜墙铁壁，对手难以突破。

Tāmen de fángshǒu tóng qiáng tiě bì, duìshǒu nányǐ tūpò.

Their defense was impenetrable — opponents could not break through.

人民团结起来就是一道铜墙铁壁。

Rénmín tuánjié qǐlai jiù shì yī dào tóng qiáng tiě bì.

When the people unite, they form an unbreakable wall.

Tips

history

Attested in the Yuan play 《谢金梧》: '随他铜墙铁壁，也不怕不拆倒了他的' — 'however tough his copper walls and iron ramparts, we'll still bring them down'. Yuan drama cemented it as stock military vocabulary.

usage

Figurative use is now more common than literal — sports defenses, cybersecurity, regulatory barriers, tight-knit groups. Often in 形成 / 筑起 + 铜墙铁壁.

Stroke Order

铜 tóng

墙 qiáng

铁 tiě

壁 bì