取长补短
qǔ cháng bǔ duǎn
Pinyin

Definition

取长补短
 - 
qǔ cháng bǔ duǎn
  1. lit. use others' strengths to make up for one's weak points (idiom from Mencius)
  2. to use this in place of that
  3. what you lose on the swings, you win on the roundabouts

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

huò qǔ
  1. 1 to gain
  2. 2 to get
  3. 3 to acquire
duǎn
  1. 1 short
  2. 2 brief
  3. 3 to lack
  4. 4 weak point
  5. 5 fault
duǎn xìn
  1. 1 text message
  2. 2 SMS
lǐng qǔ
  1. 1 to receive
  2. 2 to draw
  3. 3 to get
  1. 1 to take
  2. 2 to get
  3. 3 to choose
  4. 4 to fetch
qǔ dài
  1. 1 to replace
  2. 2 to supersede
  3. 3 to supplant
  4. 4 (chemistry) substitution
qǔ chū
  1. 1 to take out
  2. 2 to extract
  3. 3 to draw out
qǔ shèng
  1. 1 to score a victory
  2. 2 to prevail over one's opponents
qǔ míng
  1. 1 to name
  2. 2 to be named
  3. 3 to christen
  4. 4 to seek fame
qǔ dé
  1. 1 to acquire
  2. 2 to get
  3. 3 to obtain
qǔ yuè
  1. 1 to try to please
qǔ shě
  1. 1 to choose
  2. 2 to accept or reject
qǔ nuǎn
  1. 1 to warm oneself (by a fire etc)
qǔ xiāo
  1. 1 to cancel
  2. 2 cancellation
xī qǔ
  1. 1 to absorb
  2. 2 to draw (a lesson, insight etc)
  3. 3 to assimilate
chōu qǔ
  1. 1 to extract
  2. 2 to remove
  3. 3 to draw (a sales commission, venom from a snake etc)
cǎi qǔ
  1. 1 to adopt or carry out (measures, policies, course of action)
  2. 2 to take
huàn qǔ
  1. 1 to obtain (sth) in exchange
  2. 2 to exchange (sth) for (sth else)
zhāi qǔ
  1. 1 to pluck
  2. 2 to take
wú lǐ qǔ nào
  1. 1 to make trouble without reason (idiom); to be deliberately provocative

Idioms (20)

以貌取人
yǐ mào qǔ rén
  1. 1 to judge sb by appearances (idiom)
取长补短
qǔ cháng bǔ duǎn
  1. 1 lit. use others' strengths to make up for one's weak points (idiom from Mencius)
  2. 2 to use this in place of that
  3. 3 what you lose on the swings, you win on the roundabouts
吃人家的嘴软,拿人家的手短
chī rén jiā de zuǐ ruǎn , ná rén jiā de shǒu duǎn
  1. 1 lit. the mouth that has been fed by others is soft, the hand that has received doesn't reach (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. one is partial to those from whom presents have been accepted
各取所需
gè qǔ suǒ xū
  1. 1 each takes what he needs (idiom)
咎由自取
jiù yóu zì qǔ
  1. 1 to have only oneself to blame (idiom)
  2. 2 to bring trouble through one's own actions
囊中取物
náng zhōng qǔ wù
  1. 1 as easy as reaching for it from a bag (idiom)
  2. 2 in the bag
  3. 3 (as good as) in one's possession
张家长,李家短
Zhāng jiā cháng , Lǐ jiā duǎn
  1. 1 lit. the Zhangs are better off than the Lis (idiom); to gossip about the neighbors
截长补短
jié cháng bǔ duǎn
  1. 1 take from the long to supplement the short (idiom)
  2. 2 to offset each other's deficiencies
  3. 3 to complement each other
战无不胜,攻无不取
zhàn wú bù shèng , gōng wú bù qǔ
  1. 1 to triumph in every battle and win every fight (idiom); all-conquering
  2. 2 ever victorious
  3. 3 nothing they can't do
舍生取义
shě shēng qǔ yì
  1. 1 to give up life for righteousness (idiom, from Mencius); to choose honor over life
  2. 2 would rather sacrifice one's life than one's principles
探囊取物
tàn náng qǔ wù
  1. 1 to feel in one's pocket and take sth (idiom); as easy as pie
  2. 2 in the bag
扬长避短
yáng cháng bì duǎn
  1. 1 to foster strengths and avoid weaknesses (idiom)
  2. 2 to play to one's strengths
断章取义
duàn zhāng qǔ yì
  1. 1 to quote out of context (idiom)
昼短夜长
zhòu duǎn yè cháng
  1. 1 the winter days are short and the nights long (idiom)
东家长西家短
dōng jiā cháng xī jiā duǎn
  1. 1 to gossip (idiom)
标新取异
biāo xīn qǔ yì
  1. 1 to start on sth new and different (idiom); to display originality
欲取姑予
yù qǔ gū yǔ
  1. 1 variant of 欲取姑與|欲取姑与[yù qǔ gū yǔ]
  2. 2 to make concessions for the sake of future gains (idiom)
欲取姑与
yù qǔ gū yǔ
  1. 1 to make concessions for the sake of future gains (idiom)
残年短景
cán nián duǎn jǐng
  1. 1 at the end of the year (idiom)
杀鸡取卵
shā jī qǔ luǎn
  1. 1 lit. to kill the chicken to get the eggs (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs

Sample Sentences

我作为一个忠实的哈韩族,对此还是有点了解的。起先是韩国音乐的入侵,掀起了一股韩国舞曲潮流。曾经欧美乡村音乐、摇滚乐以及日本的电子乐占据了中国大多外来流行乐的市场,而韩国采集众国之长,融合R&B唱法、hiphop舞蹈等黑人音乐元素所创编的韩式街舞,刚一推出就大受欢迎。接着,韩国的时尚也开始在国内流行。很多年轻人都挑染头发或是穿着韩式阔腿裤。虽说有很多人批判韩国音乐模仿黑人舞曲,电视剧模仿日本偶像剧,并没有真正属于自己的东西,可是我倒觉得这代表了韩国流行文化能取长补短,创造出自己的风格。
wǒ zuòwéi yī ge zhōngshí de hāHán zú ,duìcǐ hái shì yǒudiǎnr liǎojiě de 。qǐxiān shì Hánguó yīnyuè de rùqīn ,xiānqǐ le yī gǔ Hánguó wǔqǔ cháoliú 。céngjīng Ōuměi xiāngcūn yīnyuè 、yáogǔnlè yǐjí rìběn de diànzǐ lè zhànjù le Zhōngguó dàduō wàilái liúxínglè de shìchǎng ,ér Hánguó cǎijí zhòngguózhīcháng ,rónghé R&B chàngfǎ 、hiphop wǔdǎo děng hēirén yīnyuè yuánsù suǒ chuàngbiān de hánshì jiēwǔ ,gāng yī tuīchū jiù dàshòuhuānyíng 。jiēzhe ,Hánguó de shíshàng yě kāishǐ zàiguónèi liúxíng 。hěn duō niánqīngrén dōu tiāorǎn tóufa huòshì chuān zhuó hánshì kuòtuǐkù 。suīshuō yǒu hěn duō rén pīpàn Hánguó yīnyuè mófǎng hēirén wǔqǔ ,diànshìjù mófǎng rìběn ǒuxiàngjù ,bìng méiyǒu zhēnzhèng shǔyú zìjǐ de dōngxi ,kěshì wǒ dào juéde zhè dàibiǎo le Hánguó liúxíng wénhuà néng qǔchángbǔduǎn ,chuàngzàochū zìjǐ de fēnggé 。
As a loyal Korea-phile, I can sort of understand it. First, let's talk about the onslaught of Korean music. It's caused a surge in the popularity of Korean dance. In the past, American country music, rock-n-roll and Japanese electronica occupied the market in China for foreign pop music. Now Korean music has gathered up a ton of fans, combining the singing style of R&B, hip-hop dance moves and other elements from black music to create Korean style street dancing. As soon as it appeared on the scene, it was popular. Next, Korean styles are becoming popular in China. A lot of young people dye their hair or wear Korean style wide-legged pants. Although a lot of people criticize Korean dance for imitating black dance, and their TV shows for imitating Japanese programs, so that they don't really have anything of their own, I think that this represents Korean culture's ability to complement its own shortcomings with others' strengths. It's created its own style.