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孤掌难鸣
孤掌难鸣
孤掌难鸣
孤掌难鸣
孤掌难鸣
孤掌难鸣
孤掌难鸣
孤掌难鸣

孤掌难鸣 — “A lone palm cannot clap”

孤掌难鸣 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “it's difficult to achieve anything significant alone or without support; a single person's effort is often insufficient”. Literally, “A lone palm cannot clap”.

Frequency

孤掌难鸣 Pronunciation and Pinyin

  • 孤gū
  • 掌zhǎng
  • 难nán
  • 鸣míng

孤掌难鸣 Character Breakdown

CharacterPinyinStrokesMeaning
孤
gū8alone, orphaned, or vulnerable
掌
zhǎng12palm, in charge, slap
难
nán10difficult, troublesome, or bad
鸣
míng8make sound

Example Sentence with 孤掌难鸣

这个项目需要大家通力合作,如果只有他一个人,恐怕真是孤掌难鸣。
This project requires everyone's concerted effort; if it were just him alone, it would truly be difficult for him to succeed without help.

Idioms Related to 孤掌难鸣

Synonyms of 孤掌难鸣

  • gū孤jiā家guǎ寡rén人an isolated and helpless person
  • gū孤lì立wú无yuán援isolated and without aid
  • nán难míng鸣gū孤zhǎng掌One person's effort is insufficient

Antonyms of 孤掌难鸣

  • zhòng众zhì志chéng成chéng城Unity of will forms a fortress
  • zhòng众qíng擎yì易jǔ举Many hands make light work

More idioms starting with 孤

  • gū孤yún云yě野hè鹤a carefree solitary recluse
  • gū孤chóu俦guǎ寡pǐ匹lonely and without a companion or peer
  • gū孤ào傲bù不qún群haughty and unsociable
  • gū孤ér儿guǎ寡fu妇orphans and widows
  • gū孤ér儿guǎ寡mǔ母vulnerable orphans and widows
  • gū孤jūn军zuò作zhàn战fight alone without help
  • gū孤jūn军fèn奋zhàn战fight alone and unsupported
  • gū孤jūn军shēn深rù入advance alone into a vulnerable position
  • gū孤jūn军dú独zhàn战fight a lone battle without support
  • gū孤jūn军báo薄lǚ旅an isolated and weak force
  • gū孤zǐ子guǎ寡fu妇Orphans and widows
  • gū孤gū孤dān单dān单alone and without support

Questions about 孤掌难鸣

What does 孤掌难鸣 mean?
孤掌难鸣 (gū zhǎng nán míng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “it's difficult to achieve anything significant alone or without support; a single person's effort is often insufficient”.
How do you pronounce 孤掌难鸣?
孤掌难鸣 is pronounced gū zhǎng nán míng in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 孤掌难鸣 literally mean?
Literally, 孤掌难鸣 means “a lone palm cannot clap”. It is used to mean “it's difficult to achieve anything significant alone or without support; a single person's effort is often insufficient”.
What is the Chinese definition of 孤掌难鸣?
一个巴掌拍不响。比喻力量孤单,难以成事。
Copy the pinyin for 孤掌难鸣 →Choose tone marks or tone numbers and copy the complete four-character reading.Read Chinese vocabulary and idiom guides →Continue with words, phrases, and idioms explained through natural examples.

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