<p>饭碗 (rice bowl) figuratively means &quot;a job&quot; in 摔破饭碗 (drop and breaking one's rice bowl) which means &quot;losing one's job&quot;</p>
<p>铁饭碗 (iron rice bowl) is a figure of speech. A rice bowl that is made of iron can't be broken, representing a secure job</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-14T11:37:54.997Z
2024-09-14T11:44:34.793Z
2024-09-14T11:44:34.793Z
Tang Ho
<p>Don't just understand 鉄 as iron. But people, like 毛泽东, had enamelled steel bowls, you can still buy them today, with a red star on them.</p>
<p>鉄：iron; strong, solid, firm, （unbreakable)</p>
<p>【解释】：<br />
1、比喻非常稳固的职位。稳固的永远不会失业的工作。<br />
【Explanation】：<br />
1, (a) metaphor for a very stable job. (A) stable, permanent employment which cannot be terminated.<br />
2、网络流行的“铁饭碗”是指拥有一种到哪里都可以赚到钱的能力，到哪里都有饭吃。<br />
2, (In) popular internet use “铁饭碗”refers to possessing the ability to earn money wherever you go, and always (therefore) having enough to eat.</p>
<p>【出处】：<br />
【Source】：<br />
巴金《寒夜》九：“吃公司的饭？我们这个不是铁饭碗啊！”<br />
巴金《Cold Night》9：“Eat company food? We are not iron rice bowls!”</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-16T09:49:54.533Z
We are not iron rice bowl? Perhaps your translation is not precise. It should have been what we here have is not the iron rice bowl as you wish.
NanningYouth
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-16T16:02:00.407Z
这个不是： this ain't, 铁饭碗: iron rice bowl, Now what will you do with 我们？Is it we or our? Did he mean: our this is not?? To resolve the question, ask 巴金 exactly what he meant. He died 2005, so we need a spiritual medium!
Pedroski
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-14T11:53:32.143Z
2024-09-14T11:53:32.143Z
Pedroski
<p>The iron in 铁饭碗 is metaphorical, it's not a reference to actual materials that a rice bowl might be made out of, and whether or not there have ever been literal iron rice bowls in real life is beside the point.</p>
<p>Just as in English there are phrases such as &quot;ironclad evidence&quot; and &quot;iron law&quot;, which refers to the supposed unbreakable quality of iron, in the same way an iron rice bowl is meant to convey security, a job that you don't have to worry about losing.</p>
<p>In fact iron is not that unbreakable. If you had a bowl made of cast iron, it would probably break if you dropped it on the ground. But metaphors don't have to take account of such details, otherwise people would need to speak with much greater precision but less literary flourish.</p>

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2024-09-16T09:48:05.683Z
Could stone bowl be harder and stronger?
NanningYouth
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2024-09-16T21:16:36.093Z
@NanningYouth it wouldn't surprise me if some kinds of stone or ceramic were less likely to shatter than cast iron. Stainless steel would definitely be stronger and as you have said, is actually used for food vessels. But I've never heard of a 不锈钢饭碗, it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue!
河南宝宝
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-15T22:34:30.330Z
2024-09-15T22:34:30.330Z
河南宝宝
<p>铁饭碗 means a permanent job that can ensure your continuous source of income.</p>
<p>But I don't understand why Chinese people use such a phrase, because traditionally nobody would use an IRON bowl in real life to put his food in, or in other words, iron is not the appropriate material for making rice bowls.</p>
<p>In Guangdong and Guangxi region, people use stainless steel to take their food like rice noodles.That is the only case in real life that comes closest to the use of iron (steel being iron treated with carbon) bowls.</p>
<p>But the history of that is no more than 40 years, far from being the tradition of Chinese using iron bowls if there is really such a thing.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-14T13:09:49.100Z
Quote:- "But I don't understand why Chinese people use such a phrase, because traditionally nobody would use an IRON bowl in real life to put his food in...." Yes, unlike the Koreans, the Chinese, (ancient and modern), do not use metallic rice bowls which are more expensive than clay bowls. Actually the term "iron rice bowl" came from 阅微草堂笔记, a series of folk tales by 纪昀, (1724–1805) The PRC "borrowed" this term as a metaphor for lifetime job security afforded to civil servants, state owned enterprises employees in the early days of the PRC.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-14T17:11:44.233Z
中国话里还有，铜墙铁壁。铁嘴钢牙。王八吃秤砣，铁了心。铁公鸡，一毛不拔。泥菩萨过江，自身难保。
PdotWang
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-14T23:28:49.917Z
It's really simply enough to ask "What is the etymology of the phrase 鐵飯碗 to mean *continuous source of income*", instead of making an unclear question title followed by uncited claims and non sequiturs. Please have a look at this for a similar but clearly-worded question: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/224412
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-15T02:07:17.413Z
On the English side we have Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain", (a political metaphor used to describe the political and later physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas of influence). It does not mean that the English people actually use curtains made of iron, at least not in ordinary homes.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-15T02:20:37.290Z
There are also lots of other metallic metaphors around the World, such as "Golden Parachute", "Golden Handshake", "Golden Handcuffs", and, wait for it, Trump's "Golden Diapers" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTZJu_baYdg
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-15T02:32:13.557Z
@dROOOze You get me wrong. I just wanted to know whether such a thing exists or not in real life.
NanningYouth
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-15T04:48:47.370Z
Then you're not asking a Chinese language question. "Do Chinese people use iron bowls as tableware" is a history question if anything, and doesn't belong on this site.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-15T04:49:41.200Z
Of course, anyone can make a rice bowl out of iron. We can't say it doesn't exist, but it is not a practical item. An iron rice bowl would more likely be a symbolic display item
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-15T08:40:03.773Z
Chinese language is not a dead language like Latin or a man made language like Esperando. @dROOOze
NanningYouth
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-16T03:04:16.977Z
@NanningYouth says "*I just wanted to know whether such a thing exists or not in real life.*". Then that's what you should have asked instead of supplying all the other distracting information. E.g. Simply ask: "*铁饭碗 is an idiom meaning permanent employment. Did any Chinese region actually use rice bowls made of iron?*", and don't add anything else. Notice how simple Tang Ho's answer is; there's no reason the question couldn't have been asked just as cleanly.
Ray Butterworth
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-16T09:47:08.267Z
@RayButterworth Your right. I am just a freshman learner, not knowing very much of the rules and regulations about the world.
NanningYouth
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-16T21:03:09.607Z
@NanningYouth says "*I am just a freshman learner, not knowing very much of …*" — We should all have that attitude. ¶ And it looks like my comments were a lot heavier than I intended. The purpose of comments on this site is to improve the questions and answers, not to put down the person that posted them, which is what mine sounds like. It was actually intended as helpful advice for your future postings, but not phrased very well.
Ray Butterworth
<word><culture>
Does 铁饭碗 really exist in real life of Chinese people?
# Does 铁饭碗 really exist in real life of Chinese people?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-09-14)

铁饭碗 means a permanent job that can ensure your continuous source of income.

But I don't understand why Chinese people use such a phrase, because traditionally nobody would use an IRON bowl in real life to put his food in, or in other words, iron is not the appropriate material for making rice bowls.

In Guangdong and Guangxi region, people use stainless steel to take their food like rice noodles.That is the only case in real life that comes closest to the use of iron (steel being iron treated with carbon) bowls.

But the history of that is no more than 40 years, far from being the tradition of Chinese using iron bowls if there is really such a thing.

**Tags:** word, culture
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Quote:- "But I don't understand why Chinese people use such a phrase, because traditionally nobody would use an IRON bowl in real life to put his food in...." Yes, unlike the Koreans, the Chinese, (ancient and modern), do not use metallic rice bowls which are more expensive than clay bowls. Actually the term "iron rice bowl" came from 阅微草堂笔记, a series of folk tales by 纪昀, (1724–1805) The PRC "borrowed" this term as a metaphor for lifetime job security afforded to civil servants, state owned enterprises employees in the early days of the PRC.  
> **username_2**: 中国话里还有，铜墙铁壁。铁嘴钢牙。王八吃秤砣，铁了心。铁公鸡，一毛不拔。泥菩萨过江，自身难保。  
> **username_3**: It's really simply enough to ask "What is the etymology of the phrase 鐵飯碗 to mean *continuous source of income*", instead of making an unclear question title followed by uncited claims and non sequiturs. Please have a look at this for a similar but clearly-worded question: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/224412  
> **username_1**: On the English side we have Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain", (a political metaphor used to describe the political and later physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas of influence). It does not mean that the English people actually use curtains made of iron, at least not in ordinary homes.  
> **username_1**: There are also lots of other metallic metaphors around the World, such as "Golden Parachute", "Golden Handshake", "Golden Handcuffs", and, wait for it, Trump's "Golden Diapers" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTZJu_baYdg  
> **username_0**: @dROOOze You get me wrong. I just wanted to know whether such a thing exists or not in real life.  
> **username_3**: Then you're not asking a Chinese language question. "Do Chinese people use iron bowls as tableware" is a history question if anything, and doesn't belong on this site.  
> **username_4**: Of course, anyone can make a rice bowl out of iron. We can't say it doesn't exist, but it is not a practical item. An iron rice bowl would more likely be a symbolic display item  
> **username_0**: Chinese language is not a dead language like Latin or a man made language like Esperando. @dROOOze  
> **username_5**: @NanningYouth says "*I just wanted to know whether such a thing exists or not in real life.*". Then that's what you should have asked instead of supplying all the other distracting information. E.g. Simply ask: "*铁饭碗 is an idiom meaning permanent employment. Did any Chinese region actually use rice bowls made of iron?*", and don't add anything else. Notice how simple Tang Ho's answer is; there's no reason the question couldn't have been asked just as cleanly.  
> **username_0**: @RayButterworth Your right. I am just a freshman learner, not knowing very much of the rules and regulations about the world.  
> **username_5**: @NanningYouth says "*I am just a freshman learner, not knowing very much of …*" — We should all have that attitude. ¶ And it looks like my comments were a lot heavier than I intended. The purpose of comments on this site is to improve the questions and answers, not to put down the person that posted them, which is what mine sounds like. It was actually intended as helpful advice for your future postings, but not phrased very well.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2024-09-14. Score: 3

饭碗 (rice bowl) figuratively means "a job" in 摔破饭碗 (drop and breaking one's rice bowl) which means "losing one's job"

铁饭碗 (iron rice bowl) is a figure of speech. A rice bowl that is made of iron can't be broken, representing a secure job


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2024-09-14. Score: 1

Don't just understand 鉄 as iron. But people, like 毛泽东, had enamelled steel bowls, you can still buy them today, with a red star on them.

鉄：iron; strong, solid, firm, （unbreakable)

【解释】：  
1、比喻非常稳固的职位。稳固的永远不会失业的工作。  
【Explanation】：  
1, (a) metaphor for a very stable job. (A) stable, permanent employment which cannot be terminated.  
2、网络流行的“铁饭碗”是指拥有一种到哪里都可以赚到钱的能力，到哪里都有饭吃。  
2, (In) popular internet use “铁饭碗”refers to possessing the ability to earn money wherever you go, and always (therefore) having enough to eat.

【出处】：  
【Source】：  
巴金《寒夜》九：“吃公司的饭？我们这个不是铁饭碗啊！”  
巴金《Cold Night》9：“Eat company food? We are not iron rice bowls!”

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: We are not iron rice bowl? Perhaps your translation is not precise. It should have been what we here have is not the iron rice bowl as you wish.  
> **username_6**: 这个不是： this ain't, 铁饭碗: iron rice bowl, Now what will you do with 我们？Is it we or our? Did he mean: our this is not?? To resolve the question, ask 巴金 exactly what he meant. He died 2005, so we need a spiritual medium!  

---

### Answer by username_7 on 2024-09-15. Score: 1

The iron in 铁饭碗 is metaphorical, it's not a reference to actual materials that a rice bowl might be made out of, and whether or not there have ever been literal iron rice bowls in real life is beside the point.

Just as in English there are phrases such as "ironclad evidence" and "iron law", which refers to the supposed unbreakable quality of iron, in the same way an iron rice bowl is meant to convey security, a job that you don't have to worry about losing.

In fact iron is not that unbreakable. If you had a bowl made of cast iron, it would probably break if you dropped it on the ground. But metaphors don't have to take account of such details, otherwise people would need to speak with much greater precision but less literary flourish.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Could stone bowl be harder and stronger?  
> **username_7**: @NanningYouth it wouldn't surprise me if some kinds of stone or ceramic were less likely to shatter than cast iron. Stainless steel would definitely be stronger and as you have said, is actually used for food vessels. But I've never heard of a 不锈钢饭碗, it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue!  

---

