Expressing "equal to" with "dengyu"

The word 等于 (děngyú) as in "A 等于 B" is a mathematical term which, in everyday language, also expresses that A "is equal to" or "amounts to" B. However, scenario B is most likely not a scenario or situation that a person intentionally wanted or created for scenario A.

Structure

A 等于 B

Examples

• 今天 吃 了 炸鸡 ，等于白 跑步 了。 Jīntiān chī le zhájī, děngyú bái pǎobù le.I ate fried chicken today, which amounts to me going jogging for nothing.
• 你 告诉 小王 就 等于 把 秘密 告诉 了 大家。 Nǐ gàosù Xiǎo Wáng jiù děngyú bǎ mìmì gàosù le dàjiā.Telling Xiao Wang your secret is equivalent to telling everyone your secret.
• 浪费 时间 等于 浪费 生命。Làngfèi shíjiān děngyú làngfèi shēngmìng.Wasting your time is wasting your life.
• 吃 一半 西瓜 等于 吃 三 碗 米饭。Chī yībàn xīguā děngyú chī sān wǎn mǐfàn.Eating half of a watermelon is equivalent to eating three bowls of rice.
• 你 去 了 ，就 等于 我 去 了。Nǐ qù le, jiù děngyú wǒ qù le.If you go, it's the same as if I went.
• 金钱 不 等于 幸福 ，你 自己 要 好好 想想。Jīnqián bù děngyú xìngfú, nǐ zìjǐ yào hǎohāo xiǎngxiang.Money is not equal to happiness, you should think about it carefully.
• 一个 国家 不 发展 经济 ， 等于 给 对手 机会 。Yīgè guójiā bù fāzhǎn jīngjì, děngyú gěi duìshǒu jīhuì.If a country does not develop its economy, it is giving its rivals an opportunity.
• 这样 做 等于 把 钱 送 给 他。Zhèyàng zuò děngyú bǎ qián sòng gěi tā.To do this amounts to giving him the money.
• 变老 不 等于 成熟 了，成熟 是 自己 对 自己 做 过 的 事情 负责。Biàn lǎo bù děngyú chéngshú le, chéngshú shì zìjǐ duì zìjǐ zuò guò de shìqing fùzé.Growing old is not equivalent to maturing. Maturity is being responsible for what you have done.
• 你 给 了 别人 一个 机会，也 等于 给 了 自己 一个 机会。Nǐ gěi le biérén yī gè jīhuì, yě děngyú gěi le zìjǐ yī gè jīhuì.If you give others a chance, it's equivalent to giving yourself a chance too.

Sources and further reading

Books

• Anything Goes (无所不谈) (pp. 149) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

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