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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

和而不同

/xɤ³⁵ ˀɤɻ³⁵ pu⁵¹ tʰʊŋ³⁵/
harmonious even when there exists different opinions; unity in diversity
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    Origin

    The phrase is composed of four characters: 和, 而, 不, and 同. The character 和 means peaceful or harmonious; it contains the semantic component 口 (mouth) and the phonetic component 禾 (grain or cereal). The character 而 functions as a connector for two clauses or adjectives. The character 不 means not, un-, or in-.

    The character 同 means same or identical. It is the simplified form of 衕, which means passageway, lane, or alley. The character 衕 is formed with the semantic component 行 (to walk) and the phonetic component 同 (same or identical). The component 行 is composed of 彳 (to walk slowly) and 亍 (to stop or to stand still).

    Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

    這個成語由四個漢字組成：和、而、不、同。其中「和」字包含表示意義的「口」以及表示聲音的「禾」；「而」字作為連接詞，用來連接兩個分句或形容詞；「不」字表示否定；「同」字則表示相同或一致。

    在字形演變上，「同」是「衕」字的簡化形式。根據記載，「衕」的原意為通道、小巷或弄堂，其結構包含表示「行走」的「行」以及表示聲音的「同」。而「行」字本身則由「彳」（緩慢行走）與「亍」（停止或站立）兩個部分組成。

    Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

    Lineage

    • characterChinese和 “peaceful; harmonious”
      • soundChinese禾 “grain; cereal”
      • meaningChinese口 “mouth, especially the lips and internal mouth cavity (Classifier: 把 c)”
    • characterChinese而 “and (used to connect two clauses or adjectives)”
    • characterChinese不 “not; un-; in-; il-; im-; ir-”
    • characterChinese同 “same; identical”
      • simplified fromChinese衕 “passageway; lane; alley”
        • meaningChinese行 “to walk”
          • componentChinese彳 “to walk slowly”
          • componentChinese亍 “to stop; to stand still”
    Wiktionary etymology text

    From the Analects, Book 13 (《論語·子路》)

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Meanings

    phrase
    1. harmonious even when there exists different opinions; unity in diversity

    Sources

    • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
    • HSK / TOCFL word lists — Facts (levels)
    • Written form — n/a
    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: 和而不同