同日而语

同日而語

tóngrì'éryǔ

idiom

Meanings

Jīntiān de Zhōngguó yǐ fēi xīrì kě tóng rì ér yǔ.

Today's China can no longer be mentioned in the same breath as it was in the past.

Liǎng rén de shuǐpíng bù kě tóng rì ér yǔ.

The two are not on the same level at all.

grammar

Almost always used with a negative: 不可同日而语 / 不能同日而语 ('cannot be mentioned in the same breath'). Plain affirmative use is rare.

history

From 《战国策·赵策二》: 岂可同日而言之哉 — a rhetorical question expressing incomparability. Still carries that formal, comparative edge.

同 tóng

日 rì

而 ér

语 yǔ