Definition
相辅相成 (xiāng fǔ xiāng chéng) is a four-character idiom meaning 'to complement each other' with a sense of mutual reinforcement and interdependence. It is more formal and literary than the verb 互补 (hù bǔ), which simply means 'to be complementary' in a more straightforward way. Use 相辅相成 for abstract, balanced pairs like 'development and environment'; use 互补 for concrete or everyday complementarity.
phrase
to complement each otherto be mutually complementary and reinforcing
Examples
- 相辅相成，。Jīngjì fāzhǎn hé huánjìng bǎohù xiāng fǔ xiāng chéng, quē yī bù kě.Economic development and environmental protection complement each other—neither can be absent.
- 相辅相成，。Zhè liǎng fèn zīliào de nèiróng xiāng fǔ xiāng chéng, kěyǐ fàng zài yìqǐ yánjiū.The content of these two documents complements each other; we can study them together.
- ，相辅相成，。Tuánduì zhōng de měi gèrén dōu yǒu zìjǐ de yōudiǎn, dàjiā xiāng fǔ xiāng chéng, cáinéng qǔdé zuì hǎo de chéngjì.Everyone on the team has their own strengths; they complement each other so they can achieve the best results.
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