One idea · 15 languages

“The pot calling the kettle black”in other languages

Criticizing someone for a fault you have yourself.

  • English
  • Arabic
  • Chinese
  • Dutch
  • French
  • German
  • Hungarian
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Russian
  • Spanish
  • Turkish
English
the pot calling the kettle black
Arabic
الجمل ما يشوف عوجة رقبته Al-jamal mā yshūf 'awjat raqabatuh literally The camel can't see the bend in its own neck
Chinese
五十步笑百步 Wǔshí bù xiào bǎi bù literally Fifty paces laughing at a hundred paces
Dutch
De pot verwijt de ketel dat hij zwart is literally The pot reproaches the kettle for being black
French
C'est l'hôpital qui se fout de la charité literally It's the hospital making fun of the charity ward La paille et la poutre literally The straw and the beam
German
ein Esel schimpft den andern Langohr literally One donkey scolds the other long-ear
Hungarian
Bagoly mondja verébnek, hogy nagyfejű literally The owl tells the sparrow it's big-headed
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 crude Ttong mudeun gaega gyeo mudeun gae namuranda literally The dog with dung on it scolds the dog with chaff on it
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? sujo falando do mal lavado literally Dirty speaking of the badly washed
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
Spanish
cachicamo diciéndole a morrocoy conchudo literally Armadillo telling tortoise shell-backed Dijo la sartén al cazo literally Said the frying pan to the saucepan
Turkish
Tencere dibin kara, seninki benden kara literally "Pot, your bottom is black!" "Yours is blacker than mine."
On the map

Who calls whom black?

The same idea in 29 versions, colored by the picture each one uses. Each country shows the version in its main language.

World map: kitchen (English, Dutch, Polish, Spanish (Spain), Turkish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Romanian, Persian, Hindi and Urdu, Spanish (Mexico)); animals (German, Italian, Hungarian, Russian, Korean, Arabic (Gulf, Levant), Spanish (Venezuela), Greek, Vietnamese); eyes and faces (Japanese, Hebrew, Indonesian, Malay); people (French, Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil), Chinese, Thai).

Download the full map with every saying (PNG)

12 more languages on the map

  • Finnish Pata kattilaa soimaa, musta kylki kummallakin
    “The pot scolds the kettle; both have a black side” Source: Wiktionary (pata)
  • Lithuanian Juokiasi puodas, kad katilas juodas
    “The pot laughs that the kettle is black” Source: Kalbotyra (Vilnius University), citing the proverb collection
  • Romanian Râde ciobul de oala spartă
    “The shard laughs at the broken pot” Source: Dicționarul limbii române literare contemporane (1955–57), via dexonline
  • Persian دیگ به دیگ میگه روت سیاه (Dig be dig mige rut siyâh)
    “The pot tells the pot: your face is black” Source: Wiktionary; Abadis dictionary
  • Hindi and Urdu सूप तो सूप, छलनी भी बोली जिसमें बहत्तर छेद (Sūp to sūp, chhalnī bhī bolī jis meṉ bahattar chhed)
    “Even the sieve speaks up, the one with seventy-two holes” Source: Rekhta dictionary
  • Spanish (Mexico) El comal le dijo a la olla: ¡mira qué tiznada estás!
    “The griddle said to the pot: look how sooty you are!” Source: México Desconocido
  • Greek Είπε ο γάιδαρος τον πετεινό κεφάλα (Ípe o gáidaros ton petinó kefála)
    “The donkey called the rooster big-headed” Source: Academy of Athens proverb archive
  • Vietnamese Chó chê mèo lắm lông
    “The dog says the cat is too hairy” Source: VietJack
  • Hebrew טול קורה מבין עיניך (Tol kora mi-bein einekha)
    “Take the beam from between your own eyes” Source: Talmud, Bava Batra 15b
  • Indonesian Kuman di seberang lautan tampak, gajah di pelupuk mata tidak tampak
    “You see a germ across the sea, not the elephant on your eyelid” Source: KBBI, Indonesia's official dictionary
  • Malay Seekor kuman di negeri China dapat dilihat, tetapi gajah bertenggek di batang hidung tiada sedar
    “You see a germ in China, not the elephant perched on your nose” Source: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
  • Thai ว่าแต่เขา อิเหนาเป็นเอง (Wâa tàe khǎo, Inao bpen eng)
    “You blame him, but Inao is just the same” Source: Royal Institute Dictionary; the Inao epic
Behind the words

Same idea, different pictures

English has two blackened pans accusing each other. An early version is in a 1620 translation of Don Quixote, where Sancho's frying pan tells the pot to get away, and Spanish still says dijo la sartén al cazo, “said the frying pan to the saucepan”. Dutch, Polish and Turkish keep the sooty pots too. Portuguese has the dirty talking about the badly washed, sujo falando do mal lavado, and the man in rags asking the naked man why he doesn't get dressed.

Animals do the rest. German has one donkey calling the other long-ears, the Hungarian owl tells the sparrow it has a big head, and Venezuelan Spanish has the armadillo calling the tortoise shell-backed, cachicamo diciéndole a morrocoy conchudo. In Italian the ox, who has horns, calls the hornless donkey “horned”. Korean has a dog covered in dung scolding a dog with a bit of chaff on it, and Russian tells someone that anyone's cow may moo, but theirs should keep quiet. Arabic says the camel can't see the bend in its own neck.

Japanese makes it about the body: eye gunk laughing at nose gunk. Chinese goes back to Mencius, who asked whether soldiers who fled fifty paces could laugh at those who fled a hundred.

French has two. La paille et la poutre quotes the Gospel: the speck in your brother's eye and the beam in your own. C'est l'hôpital qui se fout de la charité is the hospital making fun of the charity ward.

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