相反相成 [－－－－]

Jyutping soeng1 faan2 soeng1 sing4
Pinyin xiāng fǎn xiāng chéng

Definitions (Wiktionary)
  1. phrase, idiomatic
    to be both opposite and complementary; to oppose each other and yet also complement each other
    • 怎樣解釋戰爭中提倡勇敢犧牲呢？豈非與“保存自己”相矛盾？不相矛盾，是相反相成的。
      怎样解释战争中提倡勇敢牺牲呢？岂非与“保存自己”相矛盾？不相矛盾，是相反相成的。
      zěn yàng jiě shì zhàn zhēng zhōng tí chàng yǒng gǎn xī shēng ne ？ qǐ fēi yǔ “ bǎo cún zì jǐ ” xiāng máo dùn ？ bù xiāng máo dùn ， shì xiāng fǎn xiāng chéng de ．
      How do we justify the encouragement of heroic sacrifice in war? Does it not contradict "self-preservation"? No, it does not; sacrifice and self-preservation are both opposite and complementary to each other.
Examples (Wiktionary)
  1. Mandarin
    怎样解释战争中提倡勇敢牺牲呢？岂非与“保存自己”相矛盾？不相矛盾，是相反相成的。
    怎樣解釋戰爭中提倡勇敢犧牲呢？豈非與“保存自己”相矛盾？不相矛盾，是相反相成的。
    zěn yàng jiě shì zhàn zhēng zhōng tí chàng yǒng gǎn xī shēng ne ？ qǐ fēi yǔ “ bǎo cún zì jǐ ” xiāng máo dùn ？ bù xiāng máo dùn ， shì xiāng fǎn xiāng chéng de ．
    • How do we justify the encouragement of heroic sacrifice in war? Does it not contradict "self-preservation"? No, it does not; sacrifice and self-preservation are both opposite and complementary to each other.