打破砂锅问到底

打破砂鍋問到底
dǎpò shāguō wèn dàodǐ
proverb

Meanings

  1. 1 to get to the bottom of things
  2. 2 to keep asking questions until the truth comes out

Examples

HSK 6
Tā zuòshì rènzhēn, fánshì dōu yào dǎpò shāguō wèn dàodǐ.
He is meticulous - he insists on getting to the bottom of every matter.
HSK 6
Háizi zǒng ài dǎpò shāguō wèn dàodǐ, jiāzhǎng búyào xián fán.
Children always want to ask question after question; parents shouldn't get annoyed.

Tips

memory
The pun is on 璺 (a crack in pottery) and 问 (to ask), both pronounced wèn. When a sand pot (砂锅) cracks, the crack runs all the way to the bottom. The image: keep cracking/questioning until the fracture reaches the very bottom.
history
Recorded in the modern educator Tao Xingzhi's 《普及现代生活教育之路》. The variant 打破沙锅问到底 (with 沙 instead of 砂) is equally common and has the same meaning.

Stroke Order

打 dǎ
破 pò
砂 shā
锅 guō
问 wèn
到 dào
底 dǐ