五十步笑百步

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
simp. and trad. (五十步笑百步)		五十	步	笑	百	步
variant forms		五十步笑一百步
Literally: “[the one who has retreated] 50 steps laughs at [the one who has retreated] 100 steps”.

Etymology

From a parable in Mencius.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): wǔshí bù xiào bǎi bù

  (Zhuyin): ㄨˇ ㄕˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄒㄧㄠˋ ㄅㄞˇ ㄅㄨˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ng⁵ sap⁶ bou⁶ siu³ baak³ bou⁶

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Pinyin: wǔshí bù xiào bǎi bù
    • Zhuyin: ㄨˇ ㄕˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄒㄧㄠˋ ㄅㄞˇ ㄅㄨˋ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wuushy buh shiaw bae buh
    • IPA ^(key): /u²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ pu⁵¹⁻⁵³ ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵¹ paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ pu⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • 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
    • IPA ^(key): /ŋ̍¹³ sɐp̚² pou̯²² siːu̯³³ päːk̚³ pou̯²²/

Idiom

五十步笑百步

1. pot calling the kettle black