万变不离其宗

萬變不離其宗

wànbiànbùlíqízōng

idiom #90,356

Meanings

1 however many changes, the essence remains
2 no matter how it varies, the core stays the same
3 the more things change, the more they stay the same

Characters

to leave, depart from

Examples

HSK 5

题目再多，万变不离其宗，考的都是基础。

Tímù zài duō, wànbiànbùlíqízōng, kǎo de dōu shì jīchǔ.

No matter how many questions there are, they all test the same fundamentals.

HSK 7-9

营销手段万变不离其宗，打动用户。

Yíngxiāo shǒuduàn wànbiànbùlíqízōng, dǎdòng yònghù.

Marketing tactics all come back to the same thing: moving the customer.

Tips

history

Builds on 《荀子·儒效》: 千举万变，其道一也 ('a thousand actions, ten thousand changes, but the Way is one'), and 《庄子·天下》: 不离于宗，谓之天人.

usage

Often used to cut through complexity: the speaker is claiming expertise by saying 'strip away the surface, the core principle doesn't change'.

Stroke Order

万 wàn

变 biàn

不 bù

离 lí

其 qí

宗 zōng