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相得益彰

Mandarin · pinyin xiāng dé yì zhāng

to bring out the best in each other (idiom)
to complement one another well

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Characters in this entry

相: xiāng · mutual, reciprocal, each other
得: dé · obtain, get, gain, acquire
益: yì · profit, benefit; advantage; hexagram ䷩
彰: zhāng · clear, manifest, obvious

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–1 · xiang1 de2 yi4 zhang1

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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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

soeng1 dak1 jik1 zoeng1

Cantonese word readings for 相得益彰. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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) to help and complement each other so both can hone their talents better

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

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