cô âm bất thành, cô dương bất trưởng
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Yin alone forms nothing, yang alone grows nothing — creation takes the pair.
Literally: lone yin doesn't form, lone yang doesn't grow
Sources & notes
Discovered via Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897; public domain, via vi.wikisource); retrieved 2026-08-01. Source: source ↗ Attested in Tục ngữ, cổ ngữ, gia ngôn (Huỳnh Tịnh Của, 1897). Definition is an original editorial synthesis, not copied from the source.
Common questions
What does “cô âm bất thành, cô dương bất trưởng” mean?
Yin alone forms nothing, yang alone grows nothing — creation takes the pair. Literally: lone yin doesn't form, lone yang doesn't grow
Is “cô âm bất thành, cô dương bất trưởng” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.