分道扬镳
fēn dào yáng biāo
to part ways; to go one’s separate ways
Character by character
分fēn
divide
divide
道dào
road
road
扬yáng
raise
raise
镳biāo
bridle-bit
bridle-bit
Example
两个合伙人因为经营理念不同，公司成立五年后就分道扬镳了。
The two partners disagreed on how to run the business and went their separate ways five years after founding the company.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
From the Book of Wei (《魏书》): when two officials quarrelled over who should give way on the road, Emperor Xiaowen told them that in the capital, Luoyang, they should simply take separate roads (分路扬镳). 镳 is the bit of a bridle; to “raise” it is to ride off. Neutral, of partners, friends, couples and movements parting over different aims.
Learn this in Lesson 257 · HSK 9+: 问题与主义 (Problems and isms)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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