铜墙铁壁

銅牆鐵壁

tóngqiáng-tiěbì

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 tóngqiángtiěbì 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 tóngqiángtiěbì, 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 jiùshì yīdào tóngqiángtiěbì.

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