此消彼长
Traditional form:
此消彼長
Pinyin (reading):
cǐxiāobǐzhǎng
Definitions:
- (idiom) one declines while the other flourishes; one loses out when the other one gains (as in a trade-off or a zero-sum game)
Characters:
- 此 - this, these; in this case, then
- 消 - news, rumors; to die out, to melt away, to vanish
- 彼 - that, those, the other
- 长 - long, lasting; to excel in
Traditional characters: