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五十歩百歩. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
五十歩百歩, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
五十歩百歩 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Japanese
| Alternative spelling
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| 五十步百步 (kyūjitai)
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| Alternative spelling
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| 五十步百步 (kyūjitai)
|
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.[1][2][3][4]
The longer form is first cited to 1714, and the shortened form is first cited to around 1716.[1] The shortened form now appears to have replaced the longer form.
Pronunciation
Idiom
五十歩百歩 or 五十歩百歩 • (gojippo hyappo or gojuppo hyappo)
- 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,[1][2][3][4] gojuppo hyappo appears to also be in common use.[5]
Synonyms
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 “五十歩百歩”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN