How am I supposed to put "铁饭碗" in simple words, and not a paragraph worth of explanation? I can't seem to find suitable adjectives or nouns to concisely interpret the implication of "铁饭碗" (Suppose to refer to jobs that "won't get laid off")。
4 Answers
I think translating 铁饭碗 as "guaranteed lifetime employment" gets the point across quite well. There's also a phrase, "cradle-to-grave socialism" -- it's a little more political than guaranteed lifetime employment, but it accurately reflects the use of the word in Chinese history.
Neither phrase has the English resonance of the Chinese original, but I think both are acceptable choices if you are seeking a short explanation.
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But I don't understand why Chinese people use such a phrase, because traditionally nobody would use an IRON bowl in real life to put his food in, or in other words, iron is not the appropriate material for making rice bowls. In Guangdong and Guangxi region, people use stainless steel to take their food like rice noodles.That is the only case in real life that comes closest to the use of iron (steel being iron treated with carbon) bowls. But the history of that is no more than 40 years, far from being the tradition of Chinese using iron bowls if there is really such a thing. Commented Sep 14 at 9:29
Your best bet is to use the translation "Iron Rice Bowl". There is no direct English equivalent, and (according to Wikipedia) there is a precedent for using the phrase in English.
Plus it's always great to expand English :)
In the Mafia we'd say you are a "Made Man", in other words, "Set for life".
Guarantees in terms of job-security, or residency are usually referred to as tenure so I'm going to suggest "Life tenure". Source
