一個巴掌拍不響
简 一个巴掌拍不响 · 繁 一個巴掌拍不響Meanings
- lit. one palm alone cannot clap (proverb)
- fig. it takes two persons to start a dispute
- it takes two to tango
- it's difficult to achieve anything without support
Characters in this entry
- 一
- yī · one; a, an; alone
- 個
- gè · numerary adjunct, piece; single
- 巴
- bā · greatly desire, anxiously hope
- 掌
- zhǎng · palm of hand, sole of foot, paw
- 拍
- pāi · clap, tap, beat; beat or rhythm
- 不
- bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
- 響
- Look up this written character
- 个
- gè · numerary adjunct, piece; single
- 响
- xiǎng · make sound, make noise; sound
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
1–5–1–3–1–4–3 · yi1 ge5 ba1 zhang3 pai1 bu4 xiang3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
一個巴掌拍不響 · find source passages ↗ · 一个巴掌拍不响 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
jat1 go3 baa1 zoeng2 paak3 bat1 hoeng2
Cantonese word readings for 一個巴掌拍不響. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
proverb
- it takes two to tango
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack