相反相成

Chinese

		opposite; reverse; on the contrary opposite; reverse; on the contrary; to the contrary; instead	to be complementary to each other; to complement each other
trad. (相反相成)		相反	相成
simp. #(相反相成)		相反	相成

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiāngfǎnxiāngchéng

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄤ ㄈㄢˇ ㄒㄧㄤ ㄔㄥˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): soeng¹ faan² soeng¹ sing⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiāngfǎnxiāngchéng
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄤ ㄈㄢˇ ㄒㄧㄤ ㄔㄥˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siangfǎnsiangchéng
    • Wade–Giles: hsiang¹-fan³-hsiang¹-chʻêng²
    • Yale: syāng-fǎn-syāng-chéng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiangfaanshiangcherng
    • Palladius: сянфаньсянчэн (sjanfanʹsjančɛn)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ fän²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: soeng¹ faan² soeng¹ sing⁴
    • Yale: sēung fáan sēung sìhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: soeng¹ faan² soeng¹ sing⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: sêng¹ fan² sêng¹ xing⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sœːŋ⁵⁵ faːn³⁵ sœːŋ⁵⁵ sɪŋ²¹/

Idiom

相反相成

1. to be both opposite and complementary; to oppose each other and yet also complement each other

   • 怎樣解釋戰爭中提倡勇敢犧牲呢？豈非與「保存自己」相矛盾？不相矛盾，是相反相成的。 [MSC, trad.]
     怎样解释战争中提倡勇敢牺牲呢？岂非与「保存自己」相矛盾？不相矛盾，是相反相成的。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1938, 毛澤東 (Mao Zedong), 《論持久戰》 (On Protracted War), 《毛澤東選集》. English translation based on the Foreign Languages Press edition

     Zěnyàng jiěshì zhànzhēng zhōng tíchàng yǒnggǎn xīshēng ne? Qǐfēi yǔ “bǎocún zìjǐ” xiāng máodùn? Bù xiāng máodùn, shì xiāngfǎnxiāngchéng de. [Pinyin]

     How do we justify the encouragement of heroic sacrifice in war? Does it not contradict "self-preservation"? No, it does not; sacrifice and self-preservation are both opposite and complementary to each other.