How do you pronounce 点金成铁?

点金成铁 is pronounced diǎn jīn chéng tiě in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 点金成铁 literally mean?

Literally, 点金成铁 means “to touch gold and turn it into iron”. It is used to mean “to spoil something excellent or a good situation by trying to improve it; to turn gold into iron (metaphorically)”.

Where does 点金成铁 come from?

点金成铁 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.

What is the Chinese definition of 点金成铁?

用以比喻把好文章改坏。也比喻把好事办坏。

点金成铁 — “To touch gold and turn it into iron”

点金成铁 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to spoil something excellent or a good situation by trying to improve it; to turn gold into iron (metaphorically)”. Literally, “To touch gold and turn it into iron”.

Frequency

点金成铁 Pronunciation and Pinyin

点diǎn
金jīn
成chéng
铁tiě

点金成铁 Character Breakdown

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
点	diǎn	9	point, dot, or spot
金	jīn	8	gold, metal, money
成	chéng	7	to become or succeed
铁	tiě	10	iron metal or firm

Example Sentence with 点金成铁

他本想让这个报告更完美，却不慎删改了关键数据，结果反倒是点金成铁了

He intended to make the report perfect, but accidentally deleted crucial data, which unfortunately turned a good thing into a mess.

Origin and Story of 点金成铁

During the Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi greatly admired the lines "Cicadas chirp, the forest grows quieter; birds sing, the mountain becomes more serene" from the poem "Entering Ruoxie Stream" by Wang Ji, a poet of the Southern Liang Dynasty.

Wang Anshi later adapted these lines into his own poem "Zhongshan Quatrains," changing them to "One bird silent, the mountain becomes more serene." He then proudly boasted about this alteration to Huang Tingjian.

Huang Tingjian, however, concluded that Wang Anshi's revision was a classic example of "touching gold and turning it into iron," effectively spoiling the original masterpiece.

Idioms Related to 点金成铁

Synonyms of 点金成铁

diǎn点jīn金zuò作tiě铁spoil something good

Antonyms of 点金成铁

More idioms starting with 点

Questions about 点金成铁

What does 点金成铁 mean?: 点金成铁 (diǎn jīn chéng tiě) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to spoil something excellent or a good situation by trying to improve it; to turn gold into iron (metaphorically)”.
How do you pronounce 点金成铁?: 点金成铁 is pronounced diǎn jīn chéng tiě in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 点金成铁 literally mean?: Literally, 点金成铁 means “to touch gold and turn it into iron”. It is used to mean “to spoil something excellent or a good situation by trying to improve it; to turn gold into iron (metaphorically)”.
Where does 点金成铁 come from?: 点金成铁 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 点金成铁?: 用以比喻把好文章改坏。也比喻把好事办坏。

Copy the pinyin for 点金成铁 →Choose tone marks or tone numbers and copy the complete four-character reading.Read Chinese vocabulary and idiom guides →Continue with words, phrases, and idioms explained through natural examples.