不可同日而语 — “Cannot be mentioned in the same breath”
不可同日而语 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Cannot be mentioned in the same breath”. Cannot be compared on the same level; refers to things or people that are vastly different and therefore not comparable. Literally, “Cannot be mentioned on the same day”.
不可同日而语 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 不bù
- 可kě
- 同tóng
- 日rì
- 而ér
- 语yǔ
不可同日而语 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 不可同日而语
Origin and Story of 不可同日而语
During the late Warring States period, various vassal states were constantly at war, leading to political strategies such as "Hezong" (vertical alliance) and "Lianheng" (horizontal alliance). Hezong involved weaker states uniting to attack a stronger one, while Lianheng meant allying with a strong state to attack other weaker ones.
A political strategist named Su Qin initially failed to persuade King Hui of Qin and the Prime Minister of Zhao. After receiving some support in Yan, he returned to Zhao. This time, he was personally received by King Su of Zhao.
Su Qin analyzed the relationships between Zhao and other states, pointing out that if Zhao became an enemy of both Qi and Qin, its people would not find peace. He then highlighted Zhao's considerable strength: a territory spanning two thousand li, hundreds of thousands of soldiers, a thousand chariots, ten thousand horses, and years of food supply. He noted that Qin, despite its power, hesitated to attack Zhao because it feared being ambushed by Han and Wei.
Su Qin then argued that if the six states formed a united front, their combined land would be five times that of Qin, and their armies ten times larger. He posed the question, "How can defeating others and having them pay homage to you be mentioned on the same day as serving Qin and being subjugated?"
King Su was convinced by Su Qin's wisdom and agreed to generously support him in forming the Hezong alliance among the states.
Idioms Related to 不可同日而语
Antonyms of 不可同日而语
More idioms starting with 不
- bù不yī一ér而zú足numerous and varied, impossible to list all
- bù不sān三bù不sì四improper or disreputable
- bù不shàng上bù不xià下stuck in an awkward position
- bù不shàng上bù不luò落in an awkward or embarrassing situation
- bù不shì世zhī之yè业unparalleled achievements
- bù不shì世zhī之chóu仇unrivaled enmity
- bù不shì世zhī之gōng功unparalleled achievement
- bù不shì世zhī之lüè略unparalleled strategy
- bù不sàng丧bǐ匕chàng鬯peace and order, rituals undisturbed
- bù不fēng丰bù不jiǎn俭neither extravagant nor frugal
- bù不fēng丰bù不shā杀neither extravagant nor frugal
- bù不wèi为wǔ五dǒu斗mǐ米zhé折yāo腰Refuse to compromise integrity for meager gain
Questions about 不可同日而语
- What does 不可同日而语 mean?
- 不可同日而语 (bù kě tóng rì ér yǔ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Cannot be mentioned in the same breath”.
- How do you pronounce 不可同日而语?
- 不可同日而语 is pronounced bù kě tóng rì ér yǔ in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 不可同日而语 literally mean?
- Literally, 不可同日而语 means “Cannot be mentioned on the same day”. It is used to mean “Cannot be mentioned in the same breath”.
- Where does 不可同日而语 come from?
- 不可同日而语 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 不可同日而语?
- 不能放在同一时间谈论。形容不能相提并论，不能相比。