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半斤八两

bàn jīn bā liǎngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
not much to choose between the two / tweedledum and tweedledee
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-689f258a9952680c. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

半斤八兩 半斤八两 [ban4 jin1 ba1 liang3] /not much to choose between the two/tweedledum and tweedledee/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 半斤八兩

  • 半
    bàn

    half / semi- / incomplete / (after a number) and a half

  • 斤
    jīn

    catty / (PRC) weight equal to 500 g / (Tw) weight equal to 600 g / (HK, Malaysia, Singapore) slightly over 604 g

  • 八
    bā

    eight

  • 两
    liǎng

    two / both / some / a few / tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jīn] (old)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.