DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

求同存異

简求同存异 · 繁求同存異

Mandarin · pinyin qiú tóng cún yì

(idiom) to put aside differences and work together; to seek common ground and cooperate

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Characters in this entry

求: qiú · seek; demand, request; beseech
同: tóng · same, similar; together with
存: cún · exist, live, be; survive; remain
異: Look up this written character
异: yì · different, unusual, strange

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–2–4 · qiu2 tong2 cun2 yi4

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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.

求同存異 · find source passages ↗ · 求同存异 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to seek common ground while leaving aside differences; to agree to disagree

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

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