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刀枪不入

dāo qiāng bù rùdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. impervious to sword or spear (idiom) / fig. invulnerable / untouchable / thick-skinned / impervious to criticism
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-525123ef7473c5ab. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

刀槍不入 刀枪不入 [dao1 qiang1 bu4 ru4] /lit. impervious to sword or spear (idiom)/fig. invulnerable/untouchable/thick-skinned/impervious to criticism/

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: 刀槍不入

  • 刀
    dāo

    knife / blade / single-edged sword / cutlass (CL:把[bǎ]) / (slang) (loanword) dollar / classifier for sets of one hundred sheets (of paper) / classifier for knife cuts or stabs / (Internet slang) to bargain / to ask for a small discount (esp. on second-hand marketplaces) / (Internet slang) to knife (sb) (often used hyperbolically, as in 想刀他[xiǎng dāo tā] "I could kill him!")

    Dāo

    surname Dao

  • 枪
    qiāng

    gun / firearm / rifle / spear / thing with shape or function similar to a gun / CL:支[zhī],把[bǎ],桿|杆[gǎn],條|条[tiáo],枝[zhī] / to substitute for another person in a test / to knock / classifier for rifle shots

    Qiāng

    surname Qiang

  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 入
    rù

    to enter / to go into / to join / to become a member of / (bound form) to conform to (as in 入時|入时[rù shí]) / abbr. for 入聲|入声[rù shēng] / (on product packaging, after {number n} + {classifier}) containing (n pieces) (from Japanese 入 "iri")

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.