Expressing "equal to" with "dengyu"

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The word 等于 (děngyú) a in "A 等于 B" expresses that A "is equal" to or "corresponds 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 zhá jī, děngyú bái pǎobù le.I ate fried chicken today, which means I ran for no reason.
  • 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.

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK5