兩雄不俱立
liǎng​xióng​bù​jù​lì

two great powers cannot coexist

  • created sense approved 两雄不俱立/兩雄不俱立 · liǎng​xióng​bù​jù​lì · two great powers cannot coexist — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    两雄不俱立 / 兩雄不俱立

    liǎng​xióng​bù​jù​lì

    two great powers cannot coexist

    two rivals or people of equal talent cannot exist at the same time without conflict; originally from the Records of the Grand Historian [[史记|史記|shi3 ji4]], referring to the stalemate between Chu and Han, used to describe a situation where mutual suspicion or competition makes reconciliation impossible without one being eliminated

    两 (literal) → 两/兩 · liǎng · two 雄 (literal) → 雄 · xióng · powerful person or state 不 (literal) → 不 · bù · not 俱 (literal) → 俱 · jù · together 立 (literal) → 立 · lì · to exist

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense