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半斤八两

半斤八兩
bànjīn-bāliǎng
idiom #33,361

Meanings

  1. 1 six of one, half a dozen of the other
  2. 2 tweedledum and tweedledee
  3. 3 not much to choose between the two
  4. 4 equally matched (often pejorative)

Examples

HSK 4
这两家公司的产品半斤八两，差不多。
Zhè liǎng jiā gōngsī de chǎnpǐn bànjīn-bāliǎng, chàbuduō.
These two companies' products are six of one and half a dozen of the other - about the same.
HSK 7-9
他俩的厨艺半斤八两，谁也别笑谁。
Tāliǎ de chúyì bànjīn-bāliǎng, shéi yě bié xiào shéi.
Their cooking skills are equally bad - neither should laugh at the other.

Tips

history
Under the old Chinese weight system, one 斤 (catty) was 16 两 (tael) - so 'half a catty' equaled 'eight taels' exactly. The phrase appears in the Song-dynasty Chan Buddhist text 《五灯会元》 (Compendium of the Five Lamps): 秤头半斤，秤尾八两 - 'one end of the scale half a catty, the other end eight taels.' Modern China shifted to a 10-tael 斤 in 1959, but the idiom kept the older math.
usage
Usually carries a slight put-down: both sides are equal, but equally mediocre or equally at fault. Don't use it to praise two excellent things being on par - for that, prefer 不相上下 or 旗鼓相当.

Stroke Order

半 bàn
斤 jīn
八 bā
两 liǎng