孤掌难鸣
gū zhǎng nán míng
Pinyin

Definition

孤掌难鸣
 - 
gū zhǎng nán míng
  1. It's hard to clap with only one hand.
  2. It takes two to tango
  3. It's difficult to achieve anything without support.

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

孤单
gū dān
  1. 1 lone
  2. 2 lonely
  3. 3 loneliness
孤独
gū dú
  1. 1 lonely
  2. 2 solitary
掌
zhǎng
  1. 1 palm of the hand
  2. 2 sole of the foot
  3. 3 paw
  4. 4 horseshoe
  5. 5 to slap
  6. 6 to hold in one's hand
  7. 7 to wield
掌控
zhǎng kòng
  1. 1 to control
  2. 2 in control of
掌握
zhǎng wò
  1. 1 to grasp (often fig.)
  2. 2 to control
  3. 3 to seize (initiative, opportunity, destiny)
  4. 4 to master
  5. 5 to know well
  6. 6 to understand sth well and know how to use it
  7. 7 fluency
仙人掌
xiān rén zhǎng
  1. 1 cactus
八卦掌
bā guà zhǎng
  1. 1 baguazhang (a form of Chinese boxing)
孤
gū
  1. 1 lone
  2. 2 lonely
孤僻
gū pì
  1. 1 antisocial
  2. 2 reclusive
  3. 3 eccentric
孤儿
gū ér
  1. 1 orphan
孤寂
gū jì
  1. 1 lonesome
  2. 2 desolate
孤岛
gū dǎo
  1. 1 isolated island
孤注一掷
gū zhù yī zhì
  1. 1 to stake all on one throw
孤立
gū lì
  1. 1 isolate
  2. 2 isolated
孤身
gū shēn
  1. 1 alone
  2. 2 lonely
巴掌
bā zhǎng
  1. 1 palm of the hand
  2. 2 classifier: slap
手掌
shǒu zhǎng
  1. 1 palm
掌心
zhǎng xīn
  1. 1 hollow of the palm
掌柜
zhǎng guì
  1. 1 shopkeeper
掌声
zhǎng shēng
  1. 1 applause
  2. 2 CL:陣|阵[zhèn]

Idioms (15)

一意孤行
yī yì gū xíng
  1. 1 obstinately clinging to one's course (idiom)
  2. 2 willful
  3. 3 one's own way
  4. 4 dogmatic
了如指掌
liǎo rú zhǐ zhǎng
  1. 1 to know sth like the back of one's hand (idiom)
  2. 2 to know (a person, a place etc) inside out
孤家寡人
gū jiā guǎ rén
  1. 1 one who is cut off from others (idiom)
  2. 2 one who has chosen to follow a solitary path
  3. 3 (can also be an indirect way of referring to an unmarried person)
孤独于世
gū dú yú shì
  1. 1 alone in the world (idiom)
孤芳自赏
gū fāng zì shǎng
  1. 1 lone flower admiring itself (idiom); narcissism
  2. 2 self-love
孤苦伶仃
gū kǔ líng dīng
  1. 1 solitary and impoverished (idiom)
孤身只影
gū shēn zhī yǐng
  1. 1 lit. a lonely body with only a shadow for company
  2. 2 to be all alone (idiom)
孤军奋战
gū jūn fèn zhàn
  1. 1 lit. lone army putting up a brave fight (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. (of a person or group of people) struggling hard without support
掌上明珠
zhǎng shàng míng zhū
  1. 1 lit. a pearl in the palm (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. beloved person (esp. daughter)
掌声雷动
zhǎng shēng léi dòng
  1. 1 thunderous applause (idiom)
摩拳擦掌
mó quán cā zhǎng
  1. 1 fig. to rub one's fists and wipe one's palms (idiom)
  2. 2 to roll up one's sleeves for battle
  3. 3 eager to get into action or start on a task
易如反掌
yì rú fǎn zhǎng
  1. 1 easy as a hand's turn (idiom); very easy
  2. 2 no effort at all
苦心孤诣
kǔ xīn gū yì
  1. 1 to make painstaking efforts (idiom); after much trouble
  2. 2 to work hard at sth
鱼与熊掌
yú yǔ xióng zhǎng
  1. 1 lit. the fish and the bear's paw, you can't have both at the same time (idiom, from Mencius); fig. you must choose one or the other
  2. 2 you can't always get everything you want
  3. 3 you can't have your cake and eat it
鱼与熊掌不可兼得
yú yǔ xióng zhǎng bù kě jiān dé
  1. 1 lit. the fish and the bear's paw, you can't have both at the same time (idiom, from Mencius); fig. you must choose one or the other
  2. 2 you can't always get everything you want
  3. 3 you can't have your cake and eat it

Sample Sentences