RussianЧья бы корова мычала, а твоя бы молчала (Ch'ya by korova mychala, a tvoya by molchala)
Meaning: You're in no position to criticize; you have the same fault, or a worse one.
Literally: Anyone's cow might moo, but yours should keep quiet
Example: “«Ты опять опоздал!» — «Чья бы корова мычала, а твоя бы молчала: ты сам пришёл после меня».” — "You're late again!" "That's the pot calling the kettle black: you got here after me."
English equivalent: The pot calling the kettle black
Equivalents in other languages
Hungarian: Bagoly mondja verébnek, hogy nagyfejű Literally: The owl tells the sparrow it's big-headed
Arabic: الجمل ما يشوف عوجة رقبته (Al-jamal mā yshūf 'awjat raqabatuh) Literally: The camel can't see the bend in its own neck
French: C'est l'hôpital qui se fout de la charité Literally: It's the hospital making fun of the charity ward
Spanish: cachicamo diciéndole a morrocoy conchudo Literally: Armadillo telling tortoise shell-backed
German: ein Esel schimpft den andern Langohr Literally: One donkey scolds the other long-ear
Portuguese: sujo falando do mal lavado Literally: Dirty speaking of the badly washed- French: La paille et la poutre Literally: The straw and the beam
English: the pot calling the kettle black- Spanish: Dijo la sartén al cazo Literally: Said the frying pan to the saucepan
Italian: Il bue che dice cornuto all'asino Literally: The ox calling the donkey "horned"
Japanese: 目くそ鼻くそを笑う (Mekuso hanakuso o warau) Literally: Eye gunk laughs at nose gunk
Korean: 똥 묻은 개가 겨 묻은 개 나무란다 (Ttong mudeun gaega gyeo mudeun gae namuranda) Literally: The dog with dung on it scolds the dog with chaff on it
Dutch: De pot verwijt de ketel dat hij zwart is Literally: The pot reproaches the kettle for being black
Polish: Przyganiał kocioł garnkowi Literally: The cauldron scolded the pot- Portuguese: Diz o roto ao nu: porque não te vestes tu? Literally: Says the ragged man to the naked one: why don't you get dressed?
Turkish: Tencere dibin kara, seninki benden kara Literally: "Pot, your bottom is black!" "Yours is blacker than mine."
Chinese: 五十步笑百步 (Wǔshí bù xiào bǎi bù) Literally: Fifty paces laughing at a hundred paces
Origin: A blunt, colloquial comeback that works through its rhyme, mychala (mooed) and molchala (kept quiet). Vladimir Dahl collected versions of it in his Proverbs of the Russian People (1862), including one where it is a dog that growls (rychala) instead of a cow that moos. No first use is documented.
More Russian idioms
- Игра не стоит свеч (Igra ne stoit svech) The effort or money spent won't be repaid by the result.
- Не вешай лапшу на уши (Ne veshay lapshu na ushi) Don't lie to me; stop trying to deceive me.
- Когда рак на горе свистнет (Kogda rak na gore svistnet) When pigs fly; never.
- Медвежья услуга (Medvezhya usluga) Help that actually makes things worse.
- Тянуть кота за хвост (Tyanut' kota za khvost) To procrastinate; to drag something out.
- Делать из мухи слона (Delat' iz mukhi slona) To blow things way out of proportion.
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