牢不可破

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.

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