wu4
ji2
bi4
fan3
  1. when things reach an extreme, they can only move in the opposite direction (idiom)

Characters

  • 物 (物): (bound form) thing; (literary) the outside world as distinct from oneself; people other than oneself
  • 极 (極): extremely; pole (geography, physics); utmost; top
  • 必 (必): certainly; must; will; necessarily
  • 反 (反): contrary; in reverse; inside out or upside down; to reverse; to return; to oppose; opposite; against; anti-; to rebel; to use analogy; instead; abbr. for 反切[fan3 qie4] phonetic system

Resources

Examples

物极必反。

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