📖 Meaning
Reaching the same destination by different roads. It means taking different approaches or methods yet arriving at the same result. The phrase is often used to describe different paths that converge on a single outcome or goal.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from the Zhou Yi (Book of Changes), specifically the Xi Ci Zhuan (Appended Remarks) chapter, a philosophical commentary traditionally attributed to Confucius during the Zhou dynasty. The original line reads, 'All under heaven reach the same destination though they travel different paths; there is one outcome though there are a hundred deliberations.' It expressed the insight that diverse human efforts and lines of thought ultimately converge on the same truth. Over time the phrase was condensed into the four-character form 殊途同归 and broadened from philosophy to any case where different methods yield the same result.
💡 Example Usage
这道题有几种解法，但殊途同归，答案只有一个。
There are several ways to solve this problem, but they all lead to the same result — there is only one answer.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 殊途同归
- Pinyin: shū tú tóng guī
- Literal Translation: different, path, same, return
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4