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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

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
物: wù · thing, substance, creature
降: jiàng · descend, fall, drop; lower, down

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–2–1–4 · yi1 wu4 xiang2 yi1 wu4

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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.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

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

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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