牢不可破

Chinese

		firm; fast	cannot; should not; must not	to break; to split; broken to break; to split; broken; damaged; worn out
simp. and trad. (牢不可破)		牢	不可	破

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): láobùkěpò

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄠˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄆㄛˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): lou⁴ bat¹ ho² po³

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: láobùkěpò
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄠˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄆㄛˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: láobùkěpò
    • Wade–Giles: lao²-pu⁴-kʻo³-pʻo⁴
    • Yale: láu-bù-kě-pwò
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: laubukeepoh
    • Palladius: лаобукэпо (laobukɛpo)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɑʊ̯³⁵ pu⁵¹ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ pʰu̯ɔ⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: lou⁴ bat¹ ho² po³
    • Yale: lòuh bāt hó po
    • Cantonese Pinyin: lou⁴ bat⁷ ho² po³
    • Guangdong Romanization: lou⁴ bed¹ ho² po³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lou̯²¹ pɐt̚⁵ hɔː³⁵ pʰɔː³³/

Idiom

牢不可破

1. (usually of abstract things) unbreakable; indestructible

   • 大官臆決唱聲，萬口和附，并為一談，牢不可破。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     大官臆决唱声，万口和附，并为一谈，牢不可破。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: 唐．韓愈《平淮西碑》

     Dàguān yì jué chàngshēng, wàn kǒu hé fù, bìng wèi yī tán, láobùkěpò. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 因五河人有個牢不可破的見識，總說但凡是個舉人、進士，就和知州、知縣是一個人。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
     因五河人有个牢不可破的见识，总说但凡是个举人、进士，就和知州、知县是一个人。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

     From: Wu Jingzi, The Scholars, 1750 CE

     Yīn Wǔhé rén yǒu ge láobùkěpò de jiànshí, zǒng shuō dànfán shì ge jǔrén, jìnshì, jiù hé zhīzhōu, zhīxiàn shì yīge rén. [Pinyin]

     (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   • 2024 August 6, Mujib Mashal, “她認為自己的統治牢不可破，孟加拉人民證明並非如此 [She Thought Her Grip Was Unbreakable. Bangladeshis Would Prove Otherwise.]”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     就在哈西娜倉促下台的數月前，她連續第四次獲得了五年任期，並認為自己對權力的控制牢不可破。 [MSC, trad.]
     就在哈西娜仓促下台的数月前，她连续第四次获得了五年任期，并认为自己对权力的控制牢不可破。 [MSC, simp.]

     Jiù zài Hāxīnà cāngcù xiàtái de shùyuè qián, tā liánxù dìsìcì huòdé le wǔ nián rènqī, bìng rènwèi zìjǐ duì quánlì de kòngzhì láobùkěpò. [Pinyin]

     Ms. Hasina’s hasty exit comes just months after she had secured a fourth consecutive five-year term in office and thought her grip on power was unbreakable.

Synonyms

• 堅不可摧／坚不可摧 (jiānbùkěcuī)
• 堅如磐石／坚如磐石 (jiānrúpánshí)
• 牢不可拔
• 顛撲不破／颠扑不破

 

Antonyms

• 一觸即潰／一触即溃 (yīchùjíkuì)
• 不堪一擊／不堪一击 (bùkānyījī)

 

References

• “Entry #59925”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.