expression
one cannot live solely by oneself; one cannot accomplish anything solely by oneself
Proverb emphasizing that people need cooperation and cannot achieve things alone. Literally 'clapping with one hand is hard'.
「孤掌鳴らし難し」というように、人は一人では生きていけない。
As the proverb '孤掌鳴らし難し' says, one cannot live solely by oneself.
このプロジェクトの成功はチームワークの賜物だ。まさに孤掌鳴らし難しだ。
The success of this project is thanks to teamwork. Truly, one cannot accomplish anything solely by oneself.
A plain modern phrase meaning 'difficult by oneself', while 孤掌鳴らし難し is a classical proverb.
A classical Chinese-derived proverb. The exact origin is uncertain, but it is a well-known saying in Japanese.