取长补短

Traditional: 取長補短

qǔ cháng bǔ duǎn

Dictionary entry

lit. use others' strengths to make up for one's weak points (idiom from Mencius)

What does 取长补短 mean?

取长补短 (qǔ cháng bǔ duǎn) has the following dictionary meaning.

1lit. use others' strengths to make up for one's weak points (idiom from Mencius)

2to use this in place of that

3what you lose on the swings, you win on the roundabouts

Character breakdown

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取qǔto take · to get 长chánglong · (bound form) length 补bǔto repair · to patch 短duǎnshort · brief

Reviewed examples

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How to pronounce 取长补短

取长补短

qǔ cháng bǔ duǎn

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.