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五十步笑百步

Mandarin · pinyin wǔ shí bù xiào bǎi bù

(lit.) the one who has retreated 50 steps laughs at the one who has retreated 100 steps (idiom)
(fig.) the pot calls the kettle black

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Characters in this entry

五: wǔ · five; surname
十: shí · ten, tenth; complete; perfect
步: bù · step, pace; walk, stroll
笑: xiào · smile, laugh, giggle; snicker
百: bǎi · one hundred; numerous, many

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–2–4–4–3–4 · wu3 shi2 bu4 xiao4 bai3 bu4

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Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ng5 sap6 bou6 siu3 baak3 bou6

Cantonese word readings for 五十步笑百步. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) pot calling the kettle black; tu quoque

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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