People & Bonds
難兄難弟
난형난제
nán xiōng nán dì
Nan-hyeong-nan-je
難
어려울 난
兄
형 형
難
어려울 난
弟
아우 제
Character by character
Meaning
Hard to say which is the elder brother — both are outstanding.
Origin
From the Shishuo Xinyu, on the two sons of Chen Shi, neither of whom could be ranked above the other.
How it is used
Used when two candidates or two works are both excellent.
Hanja難兄難弟
Simplified难兄难弟
Korean reading난형난제
Pinyinnán xiōng nán dì
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Nan-hyeong-nan-je mean?
難兄難弟 · Hard to say which is the elder brother — both are outstanding.
Q. Where does Nan-hyeong-nan-je come from?
From the Shishuo Xinyu, on the two sons of Chen Shi, neither of whom could be ranked above the other.
Q. How is Nan-hyeong-nan-je used?
Used when two candidates or two works are both excellent.
Idioms in the same group
管鮑之交 Gwan-po-ji-gyoThe friendship of Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya — friends who truly know each other.竹馬故友 Juk-ma-go-uAn old friend from bamboo-horse days — someone you grew up with.百年偕老 Baeng-nyeon-hae-roGrowing old together for a hundred years.同苦同樂 Dong-go-dong-nakSharing the hardship and the joy alike.人之常情 In-ji-sang-jeongThe ordinary feeling any human being would have.類類相從 Yu-yu-sang-jongLike follows like — similar people gather together.
The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.