五十步笑百步

Chinese

	fifty; 50	a step; a pace; walk a step; a pace; walk; march; stages in a process	laugh; smile	hundred	a step; a pace; walk a step; a pace; walk; march; stages in a process
trad. (五十步笑百步)	五十	步	笑	百	步
simp. ^#(五十步笑百步)	五十	步	笑	百	步
Literally: “[the one who has retreated] 50 steps laughs at [the one who has retreated] 100 steps”.

Etymology

From a parable in Mencius.

孟子對曰：「王好戰，請以戰喻。填然鼓之，兵刃既接，棄甲曳兵而走。或百步而後止，或五十步而後止。以五十步笑百步，則何如？」
曰：「不可，直不百步耳，是亦走也。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

孟子对曰：“王好战，请以战喻。填然鼓之，兵刃既接，弃甲曳兵而走。或百步而后止，或五十步而后止。以五十步笑百步，则何如？”
曰：“不可，直不百步耳，是亦走也。” [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Mencius, c. 4^th century BCE

Mèngzǐ duì yuē: “Wáng hàozhàn, qǐng yǐ zhàn yù. Tiánrán gǔ zhī, bīngrèn jì jiē, qìjiǎyèbīng ér zǒu. Huò bǎi bù ér hòu zhǐ, huò wǔshí bù ér hòu zhǐ. Yǐ wǔshí bù xiào bǎi bù, zé hé rú?”
yuē: “Bùkě, zhí bù bǎi bù ěr, shì yì zǒu yě.” [Pinyin]

Mencius replied, 'Your majesty is fond of war - let me take an illustration from war. The soldiers move forward to the sound of the drums; and after their weapons have been crossed, on one side they throw away their coats of mail, trail their arms behind them, and run. Some run a hundred paces and stop; some run fifty paces and stop. What would you think if those who run fifty paces were to laugh at those who run a hundred paces?'
The king said, 'They should not do so. Though they did not run a hundred paces, yet they also ran away.'

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): wǔshí bù xiào bǎi bù

(Zhuyin): ㄨˇ ㄕˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄒㄧㄠˋ ㄅㄞˇ ㄅㄨˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): ng⁵ sap⁶ bou⁶ siu³ baak³ bou⁶
Min Nan (POJ): gō͘-cha̍p pō͘ chhiò pah pō͘

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: wǔshí bù xiào bǎi bù
  - Zhuyin: ㄨˇ ㄕˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄒㄧㄠˋ ㄅㄞˇ ㄅㄨˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: wǔshíh bù siào bǎi bù
  - Wade–Giles: wu³-shih² pu⁴ hsiao⁴ pai³ pu⁴
  - Yale: wǔ-shŕ bù syàu bǎi bù
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wuushyr buh shiaw bae buh
  - Palladius: уши бу сяо бай бу (uši bu sjao baj bu)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /u²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ pu⁵¹⁻⁵³ ɕjɑʊ̯⁵¹ paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ pu⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: ng⁵ sap⁶ bou⁶ siu³ baak³ bou⁶
  - Yale: ńgh sahp bouh siu baak bouh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ng⁵ sap⁹ bou⁶ siu³ baak⁸ bou⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: ng⁵ seb⁶ bou⁶ xiu³ bag³ bou⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋ̍¹³ sɐp̚² pou̯²² siːu̯³³ paːk̚³ pou̯²²/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gō͘-cha̍p pō͘ chhiò pah pō͘
  - Tâi-lô: gōo-tsa̍p pōo tshiò pah pōo
  - Phofsit Daibuun: goxzap po chioix paq po
  - IPA (Xiamen): /ɡɔ²²⁻²¹ t͡sap̚⁴⁻³² pɔ²² t͡ɕʰio²¹⁻⁵³ pa(ʔ)³²⁻⁵³ pɔ²²/

Idiom

五十步笑百步

pot calling the kettle black

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 五十步笑百步 (“pot calling the kettle black”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		五十步笑百步, 五十步笑一百步
Mandarin	Taiwan	五十步笑百步, 五十步笑一百步
Cantonese	Hong Kong	五十步笑百步, 五十步笑一百步
Min Nan	Xiamen	七仔笑八仔, 龜笑鱉無毛, 龜笑鱉無尾，鱉笑龜粗皮, 龜笑鱉無尾, 龜笑鱉短尾，蟳笑蝦無血, 三跤貓笑一目狗, 三跤雞笑一目狗
	Quanzhou	七仔笑八仔, 龜笑鱉無毛, 龜笑鱉無尾，鱉笑龜粗皮, 龜笑鱉短尾，蟳笑蝦無血, 三跤貓笑一目狗
	Zhangzhou	七仔笑八仔, 龜笑鱉無毛, 龜笑鱉無尾，鱉笑龜粗皮, 龜笑鱉短尾，蟳笑蝦無血, 三跤貓笑一目狗
	Tainan	七仔笑八仔, 龜笑鱉無尾

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (五十步笑百步):

→ Korean: 오십보 소백보(五十步笑百步) (osipbo sobaekbo)

Others:

⇒ Japanese: 五(ご)十(じっ)歩(ぽ)百(ひゃっ)歩(ぽ) (gojippo hyappo), 五(ご)十(じゅっ)歩(ぽ)百(ひゃっ)歩(ぽ) (gojuppo hyappo)
⇒ Korean: 오십보 백보(五十步百步) (osipbo baekbo)

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