ItalianIl bue che dice cornuto all'asino
Meaning: Said when someone accuses another of a fault that is really their own.
Literally: The ox calling the donkey "horned"
Example: “Proprio tu mi dai del ritardatario? È il bue che dice cornuto all'asino.” — You're calling me late? That's the pot calling the kettle black.
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
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?
Russian: Чья бы корова мычала, а твоя бы молчала (Ch'ya by korova mychala, a tvoya by molchala) Literally: Anyone's cow might moo, but yours should keep quiet
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: The joke is that the ox has horns and the donkey has none, so the accuser is the only one the insult fits. Cornuto ("horned") is also Italian for a man whose wife cheats on him, which gives the word its sting. It is also said as il bue dice cornuto all'asino, and many regions have their own dialect version, such as Sicilian 'u voi ci dici curnutu 'o sceccu. No first use is documented.
More Italian idioms
- Il gioco non vale la candela The effort or risk is out of proportion to what you'd gain.
- In bocca al lupo Good luck! (replied with 'Crepi!' — may it die).
- Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco Things don't always go as planned.
- Avere le braccine corte To be stingy; to never reach for the check.
- Cadere a fagiolo To arrive at exactly the perfect moment.
- Fare il diavolo a quattro To raise absolute hell; to cause a huge scene.
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