<p>The idiom's meaning is reinforced by the rhyme. I think you have the basic meaning correct. Maybe if you rhyme it in English it'll come out more like the Chinese:</p>

<p>"People are iron/Rice is steel/You'll feel like crap without a meal" - not a literal meaning, but conveying the gist.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-02T17:20:58.537Z
+1 for a translation preserving the rhyme scheme!
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-01T16:00:33.737Z
2014-01-01T16:00:33.737Z
Zackary Sholem Berger
<p>To understand such an unsophisticated phrase, one should look for the most straight-forward and culturally obvious explanation. That is, I don't think analysing the chemical properties of iron and steel will be the right way to go.</p>

<p>Instead, there is one very obvious relationship between iron and steel: steel is tougher than iron. This fact is historically and culturally well known in China; for example there's a chengyu called "<a href="http://www.zdic.net/c/8/10f/294500.htm" rel="nofollow">恨铁不成钢</a>" (lit. to wish that iron can turn into steel), which can be seen in <em>Dream of the Red Chamber</em>.</p>

<p>Therefore, I believe the logic is that "you may think you are tough, but you are not tough at all without a meal".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-01T23:13:27.530Z
2014-01-01T23:13:27.530Z
congusbongus
<p>This is a Chinese slang which doesn't have very solid logic in it. It's very hard to track the original source of this expression but most people guess it's getting more and more popular in 1980s.</p>

<p>When I was a child, my grandma often said this when I wasn't likely to have food on time.</p>

<p>I personally think this is because Chinese people were so hungry in 1960s.</p>

<p>You may want to read the following topics:</p>

<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chinese_Famine" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chinese_Famine</a></p>

<p><a href="http://donwagner.dk/MS-English/MS-English.html" rel="nofollow">http://donwagner.dk/MS-English/MS-English.html</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-01T11:20:55.000Z
2014-01-01T11:20:55.000Z
AGamePlayer
<p>人是铁，饭是钢，一顿不吃烦得慌.
Rén shì tiě, fàn shì gāng, yī dùn bù chī fán de huāng.
People are iron, rice is steel, to not eat a meal is to be hungry and need to be in a panic.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-02T21:56:57.060Z
2014-01-02T21:56:57.060Z
Thomas Doherty
<p>Taiwanese MoE dictionary defines it as: (諺語)比喻吃飽了飯才有力氣。如：「俗話說：『人是鐵，飯是鋼。』三天沒吃東西了，鐵打的身體也受不了，更何況還要做粗活呢！」</p>

<p>Isn't that rather similar to the English saying "an empty sack cannot stand upright"?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-26T11:27:26.703Z
2014-02-26T11:27:26.703Z
hanxue
<p>以铁和钢分别形容人和饭，比喻饭的重要性超过人，因为刚比铁更坚硬。也就是说，如果人是铁的话，那么饭就是钢，一顿不吃都不行。</p>

<p>Quick translation: iron and steel describe people and food; metaphorically the importance of food is greater than that of people just as steel is tougher than iron.  In other words, if people are iron, then food is steel; you absolutely have to eat.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-11T06:07:16.080Z
Welcome to Chinese.SE! This post is deemed "of low quality" automatically by the system. According to ["Should I post in English or Chinese"](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic), it suggests "If the question is in English, please answer in English". So it's better to refine it. BTW, if this answer has referred to any source, please cite it :)
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-11T04:41:58.277Z
2014-01-16T22:26:17.073Z
2014-01-16T22:26:17.073Z
lenonya
<p>Human is iron as if the meal is steel,you will be hungry if you don't eat. Meaning is no one can live without food.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-15T02:49:33.370Z
2014-01-15T02:49:33.370Z
Michael Zhang
<p>在改革开放以前，大陆这边搞政治运动和大跃进嘛。为了“赶英超美”，提出“大炼钢铁”，所以就喜欢把人称为“铁人”、”铁姑娘“来表示这个人能吃苦、会劳动，是对人的一种褒美。
而对于饭，俗文化中认为“吃软饭”代表一个男人靠他的女人过活，所以“饭硬得像钢“也是对饭和人的褒美。</p>

<p>尽管如此，根据某些意见，当时要是说出这样的话属于觉悟低，甚至要被扣上“阴谋颠覆生产”的罪状。所以可能和政治没有关系。</p>

<p>引用<a href="http://bbs.zdic.net/thread-184770-2-1.html">汉典论坛的讨论</a>，“人是铁，饭是钢”有两个含义：1. 人是铁，但饭比铁厉害，铁是斗不过钢的。不吃饭是不行的。2. 人是铁，经过吃饭，锻炼成钢。以上的观点源自商务印书馆出版、由日本语言学者集体编写的《现代汉日辞海》中谚语“人是铁，饭是钢”一词的解释。</p>

<hr>

<p>Before the Reformation and Open Doors, in mainland China were many political movements and the Great Leap Forward Movement (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward</a>). The Chinese leaders that time dreamed of 赶英超美 （'leaping' beyond UK and USA), and since the production is the basis of heavy industry, it was very much emphasized. As a result, in that time, we used to describe a man or woman as 'iron'(“铁人”、”铁姑娘“) to show our admiration towards their toughness and as an honor.</p>

<p>As for rice being steel, in vulgar culture, 吃软饭 ((to be used to) eating soft(well-cooked) rice) for a man means to live upon his wife/lover's wealth, which is not good. So, this metaphor here is to emphasize a good sense in it, and it really goes with this expression because of the rhyme and the consistency between 铁 &amp; 钢.</p>

<p>Even though, at that time, saying something like this aloud will be regarded as not understanding true Communism, and might be sentenced sinful privately in the name of "reversing production with conspiracy", which suggests it might have nothing to do with politics.</p>

<p>According to some web discussion posted @ <a href="http://bbs.zdic.net/thread-184770-2-1.html">汉典</a>, someone has looked in the Chinese-Japanese dictionary 现代汉日辞海 where 2 explanations are given. 1. The human is iron, but rice is more useful than 'iron'. Since iron is weaker, it is incredible to have no rice. 2. He who is iron, after having rice  becomes steal. The whole process is abbreviated to the word 是, since it is an idiom who must conncentrate it into a single character.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-03T19:52:17.383Z
The inner logic here is that we need steel and iron to construct a strong community.
Joseph S WU
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-06T12:57:08.947Z
I don't think this phrase is really so related to politics. Does this answer come from experience or is it your personal speculation?
arax
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-06T23:36:17.050Z
I remember hearing someone else saying so, but cannot recall who it was. However, it is true that in HK, TW, Malaysia or Singapore, people use this phrase far less frequently than in mainland China.
Joseph S WU
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-07T03:03:21.583Z
I think that's just cultural difference. And as you may be aware, people in HK & TW have a tendency to describe the mainland China as strongly collectivistic and completely driven by the CCP, which is far from the reality. I'm not trying to discuss politics or the society here but I promise I've only heard this saying when I was little and my grandma tried to get me to the dinner table. But I do agree that this phrase comes from long ago, and very likely during the time of the Great Leap.
arax
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-08T01:01:16.113Z
Ah, you have reason, because i have just read here...zhidao.baidu.com/search?word=人是铁饭是钢&fr=qb_search_exp&ie=utf8I will edit my answer a little later
Joseph S WU
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-02T18:17:34.647Z
2014-01-08T01:16:20.270Z
2014-01-08T01:16:20.270Z
Joseph S WU
<p><strong>人是铁，饭是钢，一顿不吃烦得慌</strong></p>

<p>I can not really figure out to translate this sentence. I guess it basically means that not eating is a bad thing. The first sentences - do they indicate that "iron" and "steel" belongs together, and so does "man" and "food", and it there is one, there better be the other, and thus - not eating is a terrible thing. </p>

<p>Would this be a correct understanding - or what else is the logic behind this sentence?</p>

<p>Thank you</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-01T11:18:28.017Z
the correct phrase is `人是铁，饭是钢，一顿不吃**饿**得慌`
user58955
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-01T13:30:24.793Z
Here's a great discussion in Chinese: http://bbs.zdic.net/thread-184770-1-1.html
Inglis Baderson
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-03T12:45:32.673Z
It seems like both versions of the sentence are correct - at least I have found both of them in a number of sources
miree
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-12T11:12:38.363Z
@miree: Your version here gets 8 Google hits whereas user58955's version gets 2,190,000. I think a factor of 273,750 is pretty clear for this one.
hippietrail
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-12T18:58:14.217Z
I did not quite understand what you mean by a factor of 273 750 means. And plus, I got good answers to the question, so I dont see why I need millions of Google hits...?
miree
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-15T04:50:14.527Z
Google isn't a waterproof source of language usage, but if you get 8 hits on one phrase and 2 190 000 on another phrase, you can be quite sure the first one wrong (or at least extremely uncommon).
Olle Linge
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-09-12T15:40:51.497Z
Logic, or deductive reasoning, is a defining feature of western civilization. The lack of it defines Chinese civilization. Seriously.
George Chen
<translation><idioms><chengyu>
How to translate: 人是铁，饭是钢，一顿不吃烦得慌. What is the logic?
# How to translate: 人是铁，饭是钢，一顿不吃烦得慌. What is the logic?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-01-01)

**人是铁，饭是钢，一顿不吃烦得慌**

I can not really figure out to translate this sentence. I guess it basically means that not eating is a bad thing. The first sentences - do they indicate that "iron" and "steel" belongs together, and so does "man" and "food", and it there is one, there better be the other, and thus - not eating is a terrible thing.

Would this be a correct understanding - or what else is the logic behind this sentence?

Thank you

**Tags:** translation, idioms, chengyu

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: the correct phrase is `人是铁，饭是钢，一顿不吃**饿**得慌`  
> **username_2**: Here's a great discussion in Chinese: http://bbs.zdic.net/thread-184770-1-1.html  
> **username_0**: It seems like both versions of the sentence are correct - at least I have found both of them in a number of sources  
> **username_3**: @username_0: Your version here gets 8 Google hits whereas username_1's version gets 2,190,000. I think a factor of 273,750 is pretty clear for this one.  
> **username_0**: I did not quite understand what you mean by a factor of 273 750 means. And plus, I got good answers to the question, so I dont see why I need millions of Google hits...?  
> **username_4**: Google isn't a waterproof source of language usage, but if you get 8 hits on one phrase and 2 190 000 on another phrase, you can be quite sure the first one wrong (or at least extremely uncommon).  
> **username_5**: Logic, or deductive reasoning, is a defining feature of western civilization. The lack of it defines Chinese civilization. Seriously.  

---

## 8 answers

### Answer by username_15 on 2014-01-02. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

在改革开放以前，大陆这边搞政治运动和大跃进嘛。为了“赶英超美”，提出“大炼钢铁”，所以就喜欢把人称为“铁人”、”铁姑娘“来表示这个人能吃苦、会劳动，是对人的一种褒美。
而对于饭，俗文化中认为“吃软饭”代表一个男人靠他的女人过活，所以“饭硬得像钢“也是对饭和人的褒美。

尽管如此，根据某些意见，当时要是说出这样的话属于觉悟低，甚至要被扣上“阴谋颠覆生产”的罪状。所以可能和政治没有关系。

引用[汉典论坛的讨论](http://bbs.zdic.net/thread-184770-2-1.html)，“人是铁，饭是钢”有两个含义：1. 人是铁，但饭比铁厉害，铁是斗不过钢的。不吃饭是不行的。2. 人是铁，经过吃饭，锻炼成钢。以上的观点源自商务印书馆出版、由日本语言学者集体编写的《现代汉日辞海》中谚语“人是铁，饭是钢”一词的解释。

---

Before the Reformation and Open Doors, in mainland China were many political movements and the Great Leap Forward Movement (<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward>). The Chinese leaders that time dreamed of 赶英超美 （'leaping' beyond UK and USA), and since the production is the basis of heavy industry, it was very much emphasized. As a result, in that time, we used to describe a man or woman as 'iron'(“铁人”、”铁姑娘“) to show our admiration towards their toughness and as an honor.

As for rice being steel, in vulgar culture, 吃软饭 ((to be used to) eating soft(well-cooked) rice) for a man means to live upon his wife/lover's wealth, which is not good. So, this metaphor here is to emphasize a good sense in it, and it really goes with this expression because of the rhyme and the consistency between 铁 & 钢.

Even though, at that time, saying something like this aloud will be regarded as not understanding true Communism, and might be sentenced sinful privately in the name of "reversing production with conspiracy", which suggests it might have nothing to do with politics.

According to some web discussion posted @ [汉典](http://bbs.zdic.net/thread-184770-2-1.html), someone has looked in the Chinese-Japanese dictionary 现代汉日辞海 where 2 explanations are given. 1. The human is iron, but rice is more useful than 'iron'. Since iron is weaker, it is incredible to have no rice. 2. He who is iron, after having rice becomes steal. The whole process is abbreviated to the word 是, since it is an idiom who must conncentrate it into a single character.

> **Comments:**
> **username_15**: The inner logic here is that we need steel and iron to construct a strong community.  
> **username_16**: I don't think this phrase is really so related to politics. Does this answer come from experience or is it your personal speculation?  
> **username_15**: I remember hearing someone else saying so, but cannot recall who it was. However, it is true that in HK, TW, Malaysia or Singapore, people use this phrase far less frequently than in mainland China.  
> **username_16**: I think that's just cultural difference. And as you may be aware, people in HK & TW have a tendency to describe the mainland China as strongly collectivistic and completely driven by the CCP, which is far from the reality. I'm not trying to discuss politics or the society here but I promise I've only heard this saying when I was little and my grandma tried to get me to the dinner table. But I do agree that this phrase comes from long ago, and very likely during the time of the Great Leap.  
> **username_15**: Ah, you have reason, because i have just read here...zhidao.baidu.com/search?word=人是铁饭是钢&fr=qb_search_exp&ie=utf8I will edit my answer a little later  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2014-01-01. Score: 12

The idiom's meaning is reinforced by the rhyme. I think you have the basic meaning correct. Maybe if you rhyme it in English it'll come out more like the Chinese:

"People are iron/Rice is steel/You'll feel like crap without a meal" - not a literal meaning, but conveying the gist.

> **Comments:**
> **username_7**: +1 for a translation preserving the rhyme scheme!  

---

### Answer by username_8 on 2014-01-01. Score: 4

To understand such an unsophisticated phrase, one should look for the most straight-forward and culturally obvious explanation. That is, I don't think analysing the chemical properties of iron and steel will be the right way to go.

Instead, there is one very obvious relationship between iron and steel: steel is tougher than iron. This fact is historically and culturally well known in China; for example there's a chengyu called "[恨铁不成钢](http://www.zdic.net/c/8/10f/294500.htm)" (lit. to wish that iron can turn into steel), which can be seen in *Dream of the Red Chamber*.

Therefore, I believe the logic is that "you may think you are tough, but you are not tough at all without a meal".


---

### Answer by username_9 on 2014-01-01. Score: 2

This is a Chinese slang which doesn't have very solid logic in it. It's very hard to track the original source of this expression but most people guess it's getting more and more popular in 1980s.

When I was a child, my grandma often said this when I wasn't likely to have food on time.

I personally think this is because Chinese people were so hungry in 1960s.

You may want to read the following topics:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chinese_Famine>

<http://donwagner.dk/MS-English/MS-English.html>


---

### Answer by username_10 on 2014-01-02. Score: 1

人是铁，饭是钢，一顿不吃烦得慌.
Rén shì tiě, fàn shì gāng, yī dùn bù chī fán de huāng.
People are iron, rice is steel, to not eat a meal is to be hungry and need to be in a panic.


---

### Answer by username_11 on 2014-02-26. Score: 1

Taiwanese MoE dictionary defines it as: (諺語)比喻吃飽了飯才有力氣。如：「俗話說：『人是鐵，飯是鋼。』三天沒吃東西了，鐵打的身體也受不了，更何況還要做粗活呢！」

Isn't that rather similar to the English saying "an empty sack cannot stand upright"?


---

### Answer by username_12 on 2014-01-11. Score: 1

以铁和钢分别形容人和饭，比喻饭的重要性超过人，因为刚比铁更坚硬。也就是说，如果人是铁的话，那么饭就是钢，一顿不吃都不行。

Quick translation: iron and steel describe people and food; metaphorically the importance of food is greater than that of people just as steel is tougher than iron. In other words, if people are iron, then food is steel; you absolutely have to eat.

> **Comments:**
> **username_13**: Welcome to Chinese.SE! This post is deemed "of low quality" automatically by the system. According to ["Should I post in English or Chinese"](http://chinese.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic), it suggests "If the question is in English, please answer in English". So it's better to refine it. BTW, if this answer has referred to any source, please cite it :)  

---

### Answer by username_14 on 2014-01-15. Score: 0

Human is iron as if the meal is steel,you will be hungry if you don't eat. Meaning is no one can live without food.


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