IdiomDaily Life
Chinese
Chinese五十步笑百步 (Wǔshí bù xiào bǎi bù)
Meaning: Mocking someone for a fault you share, only to a lesser degree.
Literally: Fifty paces laughing at a hundred paces
Example: “你每天迟到二十分钟，他迟到半小时，你笑他就是五十步笑百步。” — You're twenty minutes late every day and he's half an hour late. Laughing at him is 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"
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."
Origin: From the Mencius (4th century BC). Mencius asks King Hui of Liang to picture soldiers throwing down their armor and running when battle is joined. Some stop after a hundred paces, some after fifty. Can the ones who ran fifty laugh at the ones who ran a hundred? Both ran away.
More Chinese idioms
- 对牛弹琴 (duì niú tán qín) Reasoning with someone who cannot understand.
- 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú) To ruin something by adding unnecessary extras.
- 鸡同鸭讲 (jī tóng yā jiǎng) Complete miscommunication; talking past each other.
- 脱裤子放屁 (tuō kùzi fàng pì) Doing something completely unnecessary and pointless.
- 老虎屁股摸不得 (Lǎohǔ pìgu mō bu dé) Don't provoke someone powerful or dangerous.
- 半斤八两 (bàn jīn bā liǎng) Six of one, half a dozen of the other — equally bad.
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