分久必合,合久必分

Mandarin · pinyin fēn jiǔ bì hé , hé jiǔ bì fēn

Meanings

  1. (lit.) that which is long divided must unify, and that which is long unified must divide (proverb, from Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國演義 Sān guó Yǎn yì)
  2. (fig.) things are constantly changing
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Characters in this entry

分
fēn · divide; small unit of time etc.
久
jiǔ · long time (ago); time passage, grow late
必
bì · surely, most certainly; must
合
hé · combine, unite, join; gather
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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分久必合,合久必分 · fen1 jiu3 bi4 he2 , he2 jiu3 bi4 fen1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 13,437
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record分久必合,合久必分 分久必合,合久必分 [fen1 jiu3 bi4 he2 , he2 jiu3 bi4 fen1] /(lit.) that which is long divided must unify, and that which is long unified must divide (proverb, from Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國演義|三国演义[San1 guo2 Yan3 yi4])/(fig.) things are constantly changing/