五十歩百歩

Japanese

Etymology

Shortening of 五十歩をもって百歩を笑う (gojippo o motte hyappo o warau, “to laugh at a hundred steps after having fifty steps”), in turn ultimately a learned borrowing from Chinese 五十步笑百步 (wǔshí bù xiào bǎi bù, literally “fifty steps laughs at one hundred steps”), from a story by Mencius wherein two characters are running away from a battle and the one going fifty steps laughs at the one having gone one hundred steps for being a coward. The point of the expression is that both have run away, and the difference is purely a matter of degree.

The longer form is first cited to 1714, and the shortened form is first cited to around 1716. The shortened form now appears to have replaced the longer form.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ごじっぽひゃ​っぽ (Nakadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

• (Tokyo) ごじゅっぽひゃ​っぽ (Nakadaka – )
• IPA^(key):

Idiom

五(ご)十(じっ)歩(ぽ)百(ひゃっ)歩(ぽ) or 五(ご)十(じゅっ)歩(ぽ)百(ひゃっ)歩(ぽ) • (gojippo hyappo or gojuppo hyappo) 

1. pot calling the kettle black; six of one, half a dozen of the other

Usage notes

• Though gojippo hyappo is the traditional reading and is the one listed in most dictionaries, gojuppo hyappo appears to also be in common use.

Synonyms

• 目糞鼻糞(めくそはなくそ)を笑(わら)う (mekuso hanakuso o warau, literally “the eye booger laughs at the nose booger”)
• 目糞鼻糞(めくそはなくそ) (mekuso hanakuso, literally “eye booger, nose booger”)

References