DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

一物降一物

Mandarin · pinyin yī wù xiáng yī wù

lit. one object bests another object
every item has a weakness (idiom)
there is a rock to every scissor, a scissor to every paper, and a paper to every rock

Characters in this entry

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

1–4–2–1–4 · yi1 wu4 xiang2 yi1 wu4

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

jat1 mat6 hong4 jat1 mat6

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

(idiomatic) there is always one thing to conquer another; everything has its vanquisher