踏破鐵鞋無覓處，得來全不費工夫

to travel far and wide looking for sth, only to find it easily

see 踏實|踏实[ta1 shi5]

to tread / to stamp / to step on / to press a pedal / to investigate on the spot

broken / damaged / worn out / lousy / rotten / to break, split or cleave / to get rid of / to destroy / to break with / to defeat / to capture (a city etc) / to expose the truth of

surname Tie

iron (metal) / arms / weapons / hard / strong / violent / unshakeable / determined / close / tight (slang)

lit. to wear out one's iron shoes (idiom) / fig. to search high and low

shoe / CL:雙|双[shuang1],隻|只[zhi1]

variant of 鞋[xie2]

not to have / no / none / not / to lack / un- / -less

(literary) to seek / to find

to reside / to live / to dwell / to be in / to be situated at / to stay / to get along with / to be in a position of / to deal with / to discipline / to punish

place / location / spot / point / office / department / bureau / respect / classifier for locations or items of damage: spot, point

to obtain / to get / to gain / to catch (a disease) / proper / suitable / proud / contented / to allow / to permit / ready / finished

structural particle: used after a verb (or adjective as main verb), linking it to following phrase indicating effect, degree, possibility etc

to have to / must / ought to / to need to

to come / to arrive / to come round / ever since / next

all / whole / entire / every / complete

no; not so / (bound form) not; un-

surname Fei

to cost / to spend / fee / wasteful / expenses

work / worker / skill / profession / trade / craft / labor

to spend a great deal of time and effort / (of a task) demanding / exacting

(old) laborer

period of time (may be months, or mere seconds) / spare time / skill / labor / effort

husband / man / manual worker / conscripted laborer (old)

(classical) this, that / he, she, they / (exclamatory final particle) / (initial particle, introduces an opinion)