物极必反

物極必反

wùjí-bìfǎn

idiom #50,179

Meanings

1 when things reach an extreme, they reverse
2 any extreme breeds its opposite

Characters

to reverse, flip

Examples

物极必反,过度的成功往往导致失败。

Wùjí-bìfǎn, guòdù de chénggōng wǎngwǎng dǎozhì shībài.

Extremes reverse — excessive success often leads to failure.

他一直警告说物极必反,要适可而止。

Tā yīzhí jǐnggào shuō wùjí-bìfǎn, yào shìkě'érzhǐ.

He kept warning that extremes reverse — one must know when to stop.

Tips

history

Per 《新华成语词典》, derived from 《吕氏春秋·博志》 (3rd century BC): 全则必缺，极则必反 — 'what is whole must become incomplete; what reaches its extreme must reverse.' Echoed in 《鹖冠子·环流》: 物极则反，命曰环流 ('things at their extreme reverse — call this the circular flow'). Captures the Daoist intuition behind 阴阳 — every yang peak conceals an emerging yin.

Stroke Order

物 wù

极 jí

必 bì

反 fǎn