萬變不離其宗
简 万变不离其宗 · 繁 萬變不離其宗Meanings
- many superficial changes but no departure from the original stand (idiom); plus ça change, plus ça reste la mème chose
Characters in this entry
- 萬
- Look up this written character
- 變
- Look up this written character
- 不
- bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
- 離
- Look up this written character
- 其
- qí · his, her, its, their; that
- 宗
- zōng · lineage, ancestry; ancestor, clan
- 万
- wàn · mò · ten thousand; innumerable
- 变
- biàn · change, transform, alter; rebel
- 离
- lí · rare beast; strange; elegant
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
4–4–4–2–2–1 · wan4 bian4 bu4 li2 qi2 zong1
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.
萬變不離其宗 · find source passages ↗ · 万变不离其宗 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
maan6 bin3 bat1 lei4 kei4 zung1
Cantonese word readings for 萬變不離其宗. 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
- No matter how much something changes, it will still retain its essence.
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack