格格不入 out of place
Explanation
形容彼此不协调，不相容。
Describes something that doesn't fit in or is incompatible.
Origin Story
从前，在一个偏僻的小村庄里，住着两位性格迥异的农夫。老张勤劳朴实，日出而作，日落而息，他种植的庄稼总是村里最好的。而老李则懒散成性，整日游手好闲，他的田地总是杂草丛生。有一天，村长组织大家一起修建村里的水利设施，需要大家共同努力，齐心协力。老张积极参与，挥汗如雨，尽心竭力。而老李却总是找借口推脱，不愿出力。在修建过程中，由于老张和老李的理念和做事方法截然不同，他们之间经常发生冲突。老张认为应该按规矩办事，而老李却想走捷径，导致工程进度缓慢，效率低下。村民们看到两人的分歧，感到非常无奈。最终，经过多次协商和调解，两人才勉强达成了共识，完成了水利设施的修建。虽然工程最终完工了，但两人之间仍然格格不入，彼此心存芥蒂。这个故事告诉我们，即使目标相同，如果方法和理念格格不入，也会造成合作的障碍，影响最终的结果。
Once upon a time, in a remote village, there lived two farmers with very different personalities. Old Zhang was hardworking and honest, working from sunrise to sunset, and his crops were always the best in the village. Old Li, on the other hand, was lazy and idle, and his fields were always overgrown with weeds. One day, the village chief organized everyone to build irrigation facilities in the village, requiring everyone to work together. Old Zhang actively participated and worked tirelessly. Old Li, however, always found excuses to shirk his responsibilities and refused to contribute. During the construction process, due to the completely different ideas and working methods of Old Zhang and Old Li, frequent conflicts occurred between them. Old Zhang believed in following the rules, while Old Li wanted to take shortcuts, resulting in slow progress and low efficiency. Seeing the disagreement between the two, the villagers felt very helpless. Finally, after many negotiations and mediations, the two men reluctantly reached a consensus and completed the construction of the irrigation facilities. Although the project was eventually completed, the two remained incompatible, harboring resentment towards each other. This story shows that even if the goals are the same, if the methods and ideas are incompatible, it will create obstacles to cooperation and affect the final results.
Usage
多用于形容人与人之间思想观念、行为方式上的差异和冲突。
Mostly used to describe the differences and conflicts between people in terms of thinking and behavior.
Examples
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他的想法与众不同，总是格格不入。
tade sixiang yu zhong bu tong, zong shi ge ge bu ru.
His ideas are different from everyone else's and always stand out.
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他们的意见格格不入，无法达成共识。
tame de yijian ge ge bu ru, wufa dacheng gongshi
Their opinions clash and a consensus cannot be reached.