daap6 po3 tit3 haai4 mou4 mik6 cyu3踏破鐵鞋無覓處踏破铁鞋无觅处

Jyutpingdaap6 po3 tit3 haai4 mou4 mik6 cyu3

Yaledaahp po tit hàaih mòuh mihk chyu

Definition

Nowhere to be found even after painstakingly exhausting all of one's energy and effort searching for it.

colloquialdaily actions

How it's used

Originating from classical literature, this idiom is often used with a touch of dramatic irony or frustration. It emphasizes the futility of a search despite significant personal investment. While it sounds quite literary, it is frequently used in casual conversation to add a slightly exaggerated or humorous tone to a failed search.

Examples

wan2搵zo2咗seng4成jat6日dou1都wan2搵m4唔dou3到，zan1真hai6係daap6踏po3破tit3鐵haai4鞋mou4無mik6覓cyu5處。

I looked all day and couldn't find it; it really is nowhere to be found despite all my efforts.

nei5你hai6係mai6咪gok3覺dak1得zi6自gei2己daap6踏po3破tit3鐵haai4鞋mou4無mik6覓cyu5處aa4呀？

Do you feel like you've exhausted all your efforts searching for nothing?

Common phrases

daap6踏po3破tit3鐵haai4鞋

to wear out one's iron shoes (to search diligently)

Common mistake

Learners often mistake this for a positive discovery phrase, but in Cantonese, it is almost exclusively used to describe the frustration of failing to find something after a long search, rather than the serendipitous discovery implied by the full original poem.