万变不离其宗

Traditional form:

萬變不離其宗

Pinyin (reading):

wànbiànbùlíqízōng

Definitions:

• many superficial changes but no departure from the original stand (idiom); plus ça change, plus ça reste la mème chose

Characters:

• 万 - ten thousand; innumerable
• 变 - to change, to transform, to alter; rebel
• 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
• 离 - rare beast; strange; elegant
• 其 - his, her, its, their; that
• 宗 - ancestry, clan, family, lineage; religion, sect

Traditional characters:

• 萬 - ten thousand; innumerable
• 變 - to change, to transform, to alter; rebel
• 不 - no, not, un-; negative prefix
• 離 - rare beast; strange; elegant
• 其 - his, her, its, their; that
• 宗 - ancestry, clan, family, lineage; religion, sect