莫逆之交

Pronunciation: mò nì zhī jiāo Literal meaning: Friendship without opposition

Origin & Usage

In the Zhuangzi, four men agree that whoever can take life and death as one thread is fit company; they look at each other, laugh, and find nothing in one another's minds running against the grain — 莫逆于心. A friendship (交) with nothing (莫) counter (逆) in it is what the phrase names. The claim is not that such friends never disagree, but that no fundamental grain runs the wrong way between them. The closest sort of friendship, and the Zhuangzi's setting makes it a meeting of outlook rather than of temperament.

Examples

English: "Despite their different backgrounds, they became the closest of friends."

Chinese: 尽管背景不同，他们成为了莫逆之交。