不相上下
- Literal
- neither one above nor the other below
- Figurative
- To be so evenly matched that neither comes out on top; said of people, teams or things alike, with no disparaging overtone.
Where does 不相上下 come from?
It does not come from a specific anecdote; the image explains itself. 相 marks the comparison as mutual and 上下 is "above and below," who holds the higher place and who the lower; negated with 不, it says neither stands above the other. The phrase already appears in 《蠹化》, a short piece by the Tang writer Lu Guimeng, where grubs strip the leaves of an orange tree as fast as hungry silkworms. Today it is neutral, common in speech and writing alike, and usually follows whatever is being compared (两人水平不相上下). Unlike 半斤八两, which levels things down with a sneer, there is no criticism here: just a tie.
Source (出处): 陆龟蒙《蠹化》
How is 不相上下 used? Two examples
- 我和我姐的象棋水平不相上下，每盘都要下很久。
My sister and I are evenly matched at Chinese chess, so every game drags on for ages.
- 这两款手机的价格和性能都不相上下，真不知道选哪个。
These two phones are neck and neck on price and performance; I honestly can't decide which to get.
In Wanyu, all 400 chengyu have audio on every sentence, and you can save them to your decks and review them with spaced repetition. Free.
