# 颠扑不破

diān pū bù pò

Withstand challenge as firmly true

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Not broken by being overturned or struck

**Traditional Chinese:** 顛撲不破

**Register:** Formal · literary

[Perspective](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/perspective)

## When to use it

Describe a thoroughly robust principle or argument.

A strong assertion needs evidence.

## Understanding the expression

Something that remains unbroken after overturning and striking seems exceptionally sound. The expression transfers that durability to an argument, conclusion, or principle that survives serious challenges. Its tone is emphatic and often formal. Calling a claim unassailable does not make it so; the surrounding reasoning should show why objections fail. A useful distinction is between confidence based on repeated testing and certainty that merely refuses to consider contrary evidence.

## Examples

这个结论经检验颠扑不破。

### Traditional Chinese

這個結論經檢驗顛撲不破。

zhè ge jié lùn jīng jiǎn yàn diān pū bù pò 。

This conclusion has proved robust under examination.

他把旧说法当作颠扑不破的真理。

### Traditional Chinese

他把舊說法當作顛撲不破的真理。

tā bǎ jiù shuō fǎ dàng zuò diān pū bù pò de zhēn lǐ 。

He treated the old claim as an unquestionable truth.

事实支持这条颠扑不破的原则。

### Traditional Chinese

事實支持這條顛撲不破的原則。

shì shí zhī chí zhè tiáo diān pū bù pò de yuán zé 。

The facts support this firmly established principle.

他声称方案颠扑不破，第一次测试却失败了。

### Traditional Chinese

他聲稱方案顛撲不破，第一次測試卻失敗了。

tā shēng chēng fāng àn diān pū bù pò ， dì yī cì cè shì què shī bài le 。

He claimed the plan was unassailable, but it failed its first test.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E9%A1%9B%E6%92%B2%E4%B8%8D%E7%A0%B4)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=801&webMd=1&la=0)

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