孤掌难鸣 (gū zhǎng nán míng) — It's difficult to succeed alone; one needs supp… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'one hand alone cannot clap' — used to say a person needs help or cooperation to succeed. Comes from the image of a single hand being unable to make a clapping sound alone.

idiom

It's difficult to succeed aloneone needs support.

Examples

，孤掌难鸣。
Zhè jiàn shì wǒ yí gè rén zuò bù liǎo, zhēn shì gū zhǎng nán míng.
I can't do this alone; it's truly a case of 'one hand can't clap'.
，孤掌难鸣。
Wǒ men tuán duì hé zuò cái néng chéng gōng, gū zhǎng nán míng shuō míng le zhè ge dào lǐ.
Our team needs cooperation to succeed; 'one hand can't clap' illustrates this truth.
，孤掌难鸣，。
Zài kùn nan miàn qián, gū zhǎng nán míng, wǒ men xū yào hù xiāng bāng zhù.
In the face of difficulty, 'one hand can't clap' — we need to help each other.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

孤掌single palm

孤gūalone掌zhǎngpalm

偏正Modifier + head

难鸣hard to sound

难nándifficult鸣míngsound

偏正Modifier + head

A '孤' alone '掌' palm cannot '鸣' make sound easily, so success needs support.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

子瓜孤

Meaning part形符xíngfú

子子zǐchild

Sound part声符shēngfú

瓜

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

孤 uses 子 (child) to show a child, and 瓜 to give the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

尚shàng掌zhǎng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

It combines 手, meaning hand, with 尚, which gives it a sound close to shàng.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 難; 难 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

隹隹zhuībird

Sound part声符shēngfú

暵

暵hàn難nán

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional 難 pairs 隹, a bird, with 暵 for sound, and meant a type of bird. It was later borrowed for other meanings; the modern 难 is a shorthand.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鳴; 鸣 is its simplified writing.

口鳥鳴

口口kǒumouth
鳥鳥niǎobird

The traditional form 鳴 combines 口 (mouth) and 鳥 (bird) to show a bird crying.

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