The New Dictionary.
Search dictionary
Chinese/Dictionary entry

恨铁不成钢

hèn tiě bù chéng gāngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. disappointed that iron does not turn into steel (idiom) / fig. frustrated with sb who has failed to meet one's expectations
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-679545de0810290c. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

恨鐵不成鋼 恨铁不成钢 [hen4 tie3 bu4 cheng2 gang1] /lit. disappointed that iron does not turn into steel (idiom)/fig. frustrated with sb who has failed to meet one's expectations/

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: 恨鐵不成鋼

  • 恨
    hèn

    to hate / to regret

  • 铁
    tiě

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

    Tiě

    surname Tie

  • 不
    bù

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

  • 成
    chéng

    to succeed / to finish / to complete / to accomplish / to become / to turn into / to be all right / OK! / one tenth

    Chéng

    surname Cheng / short name for Chengdu 成都[Chéng dū]

  • 钢
    gāng

    steel

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.