斩钉截铁

斬釘截鐵

zhǎndīng-jiétiě

idiom #40,170

Meanings

1 resolute and decisive
2 categorical and unhesitating
3 to speak in a firm, no-nonsense manner

Characters

to chop; to cut

to cut off; to sever

Examples

HSK 3

面对记者的提问，她回答得斩钉截铁。

Miànduì jìzhě de tíwèn, tā huídá de zhǎndīng-jiétiě.

Faced with the reporter's questions, she answered decisively and firmly.

HSK 7-9

他斩钉截铁地拒绝了这个提议。

Tā zhǎndīng-jiétiě de jùjué le zhège tíyì.

He flatly rejected the proposal without hesitation.

Tips

history

From 《景德传灯录》 (Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, Song dynasty), a Chan Buddhist text: 学佛法底人如斩钉截铁始得, 'one who studies the Dharma must be like someone chopping nails and slicing iron.' The metaphor of cutting through metal captured unwavering resolve.

memory

Visualize someone chopping through nails (钉) and iron (铁) with a single stroke. That is the kind of decisive, no-second-thoughts energy the phrase conveys.

Stroke Order

斩 zhǎn

钉 dīng

截 jié

铁 tiě