八兩笑半斤
Chinese
| eight | both; two; some both; two; some; a few; tael |
laugh; smile | half; semi-; incomplete half; semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half |
catty; weight equal to 0.5 kg | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (八兩笑半斤) | 八 | 兩 | 笑 | 半 | 斤 | |
| simp. (八两笑半斤) | 八 | 两 | 笑 | 半 | 斤 | |
| Literally: “eight taels laughing at the half catty”. | ||||||
Etymology
From the irony of a half catty being equal to eight taels.
Pronunciation
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 五十步笑百步 (“pot calling the kettle black”) [map]
| Variety | Location | Words |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Southern Min | 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, 八兩笑半斤 |
| 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, 八兩笑半斤 | |
| 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, 八兩笑半斤 | |
| Tainan | 七仔笑八仔, 龜笑鱉無尾 | |
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