gū zhǎng nán míngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
It's hard to clap with only one hand. / It takes two to tango / It's difficult to achieve anything without support.
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-808249337d8741d4. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

孤掌難鳴 孤掌难鸣 [gu1 zhang3 nan2 ming2] /It's hard to clap with only one hand./It takes two to tango/It's difficult to achieve anything without support./

Source material and teaching drafts have separate provenance. Long-term commercial licensing remains under review.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

Other forms in these source records: 孤掌難鳴

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

孤掌难鸣
Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.