一個巴掌拍不響 yī ge bā zhǎng pāi bù xiǎng

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. one palm alone cannot clap (proverb)
  2. fig. it takes two persons to start a dispute
  3. it takes two to tango
  4. it's difficult to achieve anything without support

CHARACTERS

一 yī one; a, an; alone
個 ge numerary adjunct, piece; single
巴 bā greatly desire, anxiously hope
掌 zhǎng palm of hand, sole of foot, paw
拍 pāi clap, tap, beat; beat or rhythm
不 bù no, not; un-; negative prefix
響 xiǎng make sound, make noise; sound