📖 Meaning
Describes two people whose talents or abilities are so closely matched that it is difficult to tell who is superior. The term 伯仲 originally refers to the birth order of brothers (eldest and second son), used metaphorically to indicate comparable rank or level. It conveys that two parties stand on equal footing in a given realm.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Qing dynasty work 'Jiang Heng Qiu' (绛蘅秋) by Wu Lanxin (吴兰馨), specifically in the 'Qiu She' (秋社) section. In the text, a character remarks upon reading the poems composed by someone called Yi Jiao Ke (怡蕉客), praising them as truly being on par with one another — '可的是一时伯仲呢'. The term 伯仲, denoting the order of brothers, was borrowed to express that the literary works were so evenly matched in quality that neither clearly outshone the other.
💡 Example Usage
这两位画家的技法一时伯仲，难分胜负。
The two painters' techniques were so evenly matched that it was impossible to declare a winner.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 一时伯仲
- Pinyin: yī shí bó zhòng
- Literal Translation: one, time, elder brother, younger brother
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4