Dictionary › 斩钉截铁

斩钉截铁

zhǎn dīng jié tiě

Old HSK 6 HSK 3.0 level 7-9 4-character word Traditional 斬釘截鐵

斩钉截铁 (zhǎn dīng jié tiě) means "lit. to chop the nail and slice the iron (idiom); fig. resolute and decisive; unhesitating; categorical". It is an HSK 3.0 level 7-9 word, and was HSK 6 in the old six-level list.

What 斩钉截铁 means

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

The characters in 斩钉截铁

• 斩zhǎnto behead (as form of capital punishment); to chop
• 钉dīngnail; to follow closely; to keep at sb (to do sth)
• 截jiéto cut off (a length); to stop; to intercept
• 铁tiěiron (metal); arms; weapons

Example sentences

• 我斩钉截铁地拒绝了。
  I flatly refused.

Where 斩钉截铁 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of HSK 6 Vocabulary · zhā (HSK 6), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 6 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read zhǎn dīng jié tiě correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.