各取所需

gèqǔsuǒxū

idiom #37,982

Meanings

1 each takes what he needs
2 each party gets what they want from the arrangement

Characters

(nominalizer: that which)

Examples

自助餐就是各取所需，想吃什么拿什么。

Zìzhùcān jiùshì gèqǔsuǒxū, xiǎng chī shénme ná shénme.

A buffet is each person taking what they want — eat whatever you like.

这次合作可以说是各取所需，双方都满意。

Zhè cì hézuò kěyǐ shuō shì gèqǔsuǒxū, shuāngfāng dōu mǎnyì.

This collaboration is a case of each side getting what they need — both are satisfied.

他们各取所需，谁也不欠谁的。

Tāmen gèqǔsuǒxū, shéi yě bú qiàn shéi de.

They each got what they wanted — neither owes the other anything.

Tips

usage

Used two ways: (1) neutral — buffets, free selection, marketplaces (each picks what suits them); (2) mildly critical — transactional relationships where both sides are just extracting what they want without genuine connection. Context disambiguates.

culture

Echoes the Marxist slogan 各尽所能，按需分配 ('from each according to ability, to each according to need'), though 各取所需 predates it and is now usually neutral-commercial rather than political.

Stroke Order

各 gè

取 qǔ

所 suǒ

需 xū