點金成鐵 diǎn jīn chéng tiě

DEFINITIONS

  1. to transform gold into base metal (idiom); fig. to edit sb else's beautiful prose and ruin it

CHARACTERS

點 diǎn dot, speck, spot; point, degree
金 jīn
HSK 4
gold; metals in general; money
成 chéng
HSK 3
completed, finished, fixed
鐵 tiě iron; strong, solid, firm