半斤八两
“The pot calls the kettle black.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
半斤八两
“The pot calls the kettle black.”
何爸
“Mr. He.”
“You two are cut from the same cloth, so stop pretending one is better than the other.”
Before decimalization, 1 jin equaled 16 liang, making half a jin exactly 8 liang; the idiom implies an equivalence that is often mildly derogatory or playfully dismissive.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
six of one and half a dozen of the other; equally matched (often in shortcomings)
A very popular four-character idiom derived from the traditional Chinese weighing system (where one pound equaled sixteen ounces). Usually carries a slightly critical or playful nuance.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“you and I are not so different.”
“I'd say they're about the same. Neither one's better than the other.”
“We're in the same boat. We're both still sharing a place.”