IdiomBody & Senses
Japanese
Japanese目くそ鼻くそを笑う (Mekuso hanakuso o warau)
Meaning: Mocking someone else's faults without noticing you have the same ones.
Literally: Eye gunk laughs at nose gunk
Example: “遅刻ばかりの二人が互いを責め合うなんて、目くそ鼻くそを笑うだ。” — Those two are always late, and they blame each other for it? Talk about 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
Italian: Il bue che dice cornuto all'asino Literally: The ox calling the donkey "horned"
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: Mekuso is the crust that gathers in the corner of the eye and hanakuso is dried snot. Both are equally dirty, so neither can laugh at the other. It is also written 目糞鼻糞を笑う. A similar saying is saru no shiri warai, a monkey laughing at another monkey's red bottom. No first use is documented.
More Japanese idioms
- 労多くして功少なし (Rō ōkushite kō sukunashi) A lot of effort for very little result.
- 猫の手も借りたい (Neko no te mo karitai) I'm so busy I'll take help from anyone.
- 花より団子 (Hana yori dango) Substance over style; practicality over beauty.
- 猫をかぶる (Neko wo kaburu) To hide one's true nature; to act innocent.
- 馬の耳に念仏 (Uma no mimi ni nenbutsu) Wasted advice on someone who won't listen.
- 雀の涙 (suzume no namida) A pitifully small amount.
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