斩 钉 截 铁

zhǎn dīng jié tiědictionary entry

(lit.) to chop the nail and slice the iron (idiom) / (fig.) resolute and decisive / unhesitating / categorical

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-035859aa53b05469. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

斬釘截鐵 斩钉截铁 [zhan3 ding1 jie2 tie3] /(lit.) to chop the nail and slice the iron (idiom)/(fig.) resolute and decisive; unhesitating; categorical/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 斬釘截鐵

斩
zhǎn
to behead (as form of capital punishment) / to chop
钉
dīng
nail / to follow closely / to keep at sb (to do sth)
dìng
to join things together by fixing them in place at one or more points / to nail / to pin / to staple / to sew on
截
jié
to cut off (a length) / to stop / to intercept / section / chunk / length
铁
tiě
iron (metal) / arms / weapons / hard / strong / violent / unshakeable / determined / close / tight (slang)
Tiě
surname Tie

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.