tà pò tiě xiédictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(lit.) to wear out one's iron shoes (idiom) / (fig.) to search high and low
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-115690eec5a76225. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

踏破鐵鞋 踏破铁鞋 [ta4 po4 tie3 xie2] /(lit.) to wear out one's iron shoes (idiom)/(fig.) to search high and low/

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: 踏破鐵鞋

  • 踏
    tā

    see 踏實|踏实[tā shi]

    tà

    to tread / to stamp / to step on / to press a pedal / to investigate on the spot

  • 破
    pò

    broken / damaged / worn out / lousy / rotten / to break, split or cleave / to get rid of / to destroy / to break with / to defeat / to capture (a city etc) / to expose the truth of

  • 铁
    tiě

    iron (metal) / arms / weapons / hard / strong / violent / unshakeable / determined / close / tight (slang)

    Tiě

    surname Tie

  • 鞋

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.