Expressing "equal to" with "dengyu"

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 zhájī, 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.
• 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 like 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 hǎohǎo xiǎng xiǎng.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 rival a chance.
• 这样 做 等于 把 秘密 告诉 了 他。Zhèyàng zuò děngyú bǎ mìmì gàosu le tā.To do so is to tell him a secret.
• 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 the same as growing old; 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 yīgè jīhuì, yě děngyú gěi le zìjǐ yīgè jīhuì.If you give others a chance, you are 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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