📖 Meaning
To look at each other with nothing contrary in one's heart, describing a friendship so deep and harmonious that friends understand each other perfectly. The term 莫逆 literally means 'no opposition or resistance,' conveying kindred spirits who share complete mutual understanding.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Zhuangzi's 'Great and Venerable Teacher' (大宗师), a chapter in the Daoist text Zhuangzi from the Warring States period. The philosopher Zhuangzi recounted how four men—Zi Si, Zi Yu, Zi Li, and Zi Lai—gathered and discussed the unity of life and death. Upon finding that they all shared the same profound understanding, the four looked at each other and smiled with nothing contrary in their hearts (相视而笑，莫逆于心), and thus became close friends. The phrase later condensed into the idiom 相视莫逆.
💡 Example Usage
他们两人一见如故，相视莫逆，遂结为知交。
They hit it off immediately, shared a bond of perfect mutual understanding, and became close friends.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 相视莫逆
- Pinyin: xiāng shì mò nì
- Literal Translation: mutually, look, none, contrary
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4