水火不容 like fire and water
Explanation
水和火是两种性质完全相反的东西，无法共存。比喻双方矛盾尖锐，彼此冲突，绝不相容。
Water and fire are two things with completely opposite properties and cannot coexist. It is used to express that two parties have a strong conflict and exclude each other.
Origin Story
传说很久以前，在一个偏僻的小山村里，住着两位技艺高超的工匠，一位是擅长木工的张师傅，一位是精通火器的李师傅。张师傅以精湛的木工技艺闻名，他制作的家具坚固耐用，深受村民喜爱。李师傅则凭借精妙的火器技术，为村庄保卫安全，抵御外敌入侵。然而，性格迥异的两人却水火不容。张师傅性格沉稳，做事谨慎，而李师傅性情急躁，脾气火爆。一次，村里要修建一座新的庙宇，张师傅负责木工部分，李师傅负责制作庙宇屋顶的防火装置。由于两人性格不合，在施工过程中，他们经常发生争执，意见相左。李师傅认为张师傅的木工活太慢，影响了他的进度，而张师傅则认为李师傅做事太粗心，差点儿引发火灾。庙宇修建期间，争吵不断，水火不容的矛盾日益激化，最后甚至发展到了互相谩骂的地步。村民们都非常担心，害怕他们的矛盾会影响到庙宇的建造。村长是一位德高望重的老人，他看到这种局面后，便主动找到两位师傅，和他们进行了长时间的沟通和调解。最终，在村长的劝说下，两人意识到自己的错误，他们放下成见，开始相互合作，共同完成了庙宇的建造。这座庙宇不仅成为村庄的标志性建筑，也象征着两人矛盾化解的成果。从那以后，张师傅和李师傅都改变了自己的态度，彼此之间也越来越融洽，成为了好朋友。
Legend has it that a long time ago, in a remote mountain village, there lived two highly skilled craftsmen, one was Master Zhang, a skilled carpenter, and the other was Master Li, an expert in firearms. Master Zhang was known for his superb carpentry skills, his furniture was strong and durable, and was very popular among the villagers. Master Li, on the other hand, relied on his exquisite firearms technology to protect the safety of the village and defend against external enemies. However, the two, with their vastly different personalities, were like fire and water. Master Zhang was calm and cautious in his work, while Master Li was impetuous and had a fiery temper. Once, the village was to build a new temple, with Master Zhang responsible for the carpentry and Master Li responsible for making fire prevention devices for the temple roof. Due to their incompatible personalities, during the construction process, they frequently quarreled and disagreed. Master Li thought that Master Zhang's carpentry work was too slow, affecting his progress, while Master Zhang thought that Master Li was too careless, almost causing a fire. During the construction of the temple, quarrels continued, and the irreconcilable conflict between them intensified, eventually even developing to the point of mutual verbal abuse. The villagers were very worried, fearing that their conflict would affect the construction of the temple. The village head, an elderly man of high moral standing, upon seeing this situation, took the initiative to find the two masters and engage in lengthy communication and mediation with them. Finally, at the persuasion of the village head, the two realized their mistakes, put aside their prejudices, and began to cooperate with each other, jointly completing the construction of the temple. This temple not only became a landmark building of the village, but also symbolized the resolution of the conflict between the two. From then on, Master Zhang and Master Li both changed their attitudes, and their relationship became increasingly harmonious, and they became good friends.
Usage
形容双方关系极差，完全不能共存。多用于口语。
To describe the relationship between two parties that is extremely poor and absolutely cannot coexist. It is mainly used in colloquial contexts.
Examples
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他们两人水火不容，根本无法合作。
tāmen liǎng gè rén shuǐ huǒ bù róng, gēn běn wú fǎ hé zuò.
These two people are like fire and water, they cannot cooperate at all.
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这两个派系水火不容，势同水火。
zhè liǎng gè pàixì shuǐ huǒ bù róng, shì tóng shuǐ huǒ.
These two factions are irreconcilable, like fire and water.