黄沙百战穿金甲

黃沙百戰穿金甲

huángshābǎizhànchuānjīnjiǎ

phrase

Meanings

1 in yellow sand, a hundred battles have worn through the golden armor
2 countless frontier battles have ground down even the soldier's armor

Characters

to wear through

Examples

老兵的故事，一句黄沙百战穿金甲全懂了。

Lǎobīng de gùshì, yī jù huáng shā bǎi zhàn chuān jīn jiǎ quán dǒng le.

The veteran's story — the line 'yellow sand, a hundred battles, armor worn through' says it all.

戍边战士真是黄沙百战穿金甲。

Shùbiān zhànshì zhēnshi huáng shā bǎi zhàn chuān jīn jiǎ.

The frontier-guarding soldiers really live 'a hundred battles in yellow sand, armor worn through.'

Tips

history

From 王昌龄 Wang Changling (Tang) 《从军行·其四》: 黄沙百战穿金甲，不破楼兰终不还 — 'in yellow sand, a hundred battles wear through golden armor; until Loulan falls, I will not return.' A frontier soldier's oath. 楼兰 Loulan was a Silk Road kingdom on the edge of the Taklamakan desert.

usage

穿 here = 'to wear through / to pierce,' not 'to wear (clothes).' 金甲 = gilded or bronzed armor. Almost always paired with 不破楼兰终不还.

Stroke Order

黄 huáng

沙 shā

百 bǎi

战 zhàn

穿 chuān

金 jīn

甲 jiǎ