Chinese idiom · 成语
入木三分
Meaning
Incisive and penetrating; vividly or profoundly expressed.
Character by character
Origin and story
Traditional anecdoteA calligraphic anecdote attributed to Yang Xin’s Bizhen Tu (筆陣圖), quoted in Zhang Huaiguan’s Shuduan (書斷), volume 2, tells of a wooden tablet used in an imperial sacrifice. When workers shaved away writing associated with Wang Xizhi, its traces were said to penetrate three fen into the wood.
This is a traditional marvel celebrating the force of his brushwork, not a measured demonstration that a brush physically carved the board. The idiom extended from powerful calligraphy to writing, portrayal, or criticism that penetrates its subject with unusual precision; fen here is a traditional small unit of length.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
这篇人物访谈把他的矛盾心理写得入木三分。
This profile portrays his conflicting feelings with remarkable insight.
Praises incisive analysis or vivid portrayal, not merely a forceful tone.