一个巴掌拍不响

yī ge bā zhǎng pāi bù xiǎng

lit. one palm alone cannot clap (proverb)

fig. it takes two persons to start a dispute; it takes two to tango; it's difficult to achieve anything without support

一

yī

one

个

ge

used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]

巴

bā

the east of Sichuan and Chongqing Municipality

掌

zhǎng

palm of the hand

拍

pāi

to pat

不

bù

no; not so

响

xiǎng

echo