五十歩百歩

Japanese

Kanji in this term
五	十	歩	百	歩
ご Grade: 1	じっ Grade: 1	ほ > ぽ Grade: 2	ひゃく > ひゃっ Grade: 1	ほ > ぽ Grade: 2
on'yomi	kan'yōon	kan'on	goon	kan'on

Alternative spelling
五十步百步 (kyūjitai)

Kanji in this term
五	十	歩	百	歩
ご Grade: 1	じゅう > じゅっ Grade: 1	ほ > ぽ Grade: 2	ひゃく > ひゃっ Grade: 1	ほ > ぽ Grade: 2
on'yomi	goon	kan'on	goon	kan'on

Alternative spelling
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 [gone] 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

(Tokyo) ごじっぽひゃっぽ [gòjíppó hyáꜜppò] (Nakadaka – [5])^[3]^[4]^[5]
IPA^(key): [ɡo̞ʑip̚po̞ ça̠p̚po̞]

(Tokyo) ごじゅっぽひゃっぽ [gòjúppó hyáꜜppò] (Nakadaka – [5])^[5]
IPA^(key): [ɡo̞ʑɨp̚po̞ ça̠p̚po̞]

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)

[from 1716] 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

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

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 “五十歩百歩”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (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

[KDJ2-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 “五十歩百歩”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[DJS-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[SMK5-4] 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

[NHK-5] 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

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