别无二致 (bié wú èr zhì) — without any difference; identical

Definition

Literary idiom meaning 'not the slightest difference' — used in writing to stress two things are identical. Stronger and more formal than plain 一样.

idiom
without any differenceidentical

Examples

  • 别无二致。
    Zhè liǎng kuǎn shǒu jī de shè jì bié wú èr zhì.
    The design of these two phone models is identical.
  • 别无二致。
    Tā de xiǎng fǎ hé wǒ de bié wú èr zhì.
    His idea is no different from mine.
  • 别无二致，。
    Zhè liǎng fú huà fēng gé bié wú èr zhì, hěn nán fēn biàn.
    The styles of these two paintings are essentially the same — hard to tell apart.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 別; 别 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 別 pairs 冎 (bone) with 刀 (knife), showing a knife cutting up bone and flesh. The simplified 别 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 别 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

二 is drawn as two parallel strokes, where the number of strokes shows the amount.

Open 二 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攵Written in full as攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
至
至zhì致zhì
Same sound today

致 pairs 至, used for its sound, with 攵, written in full as 攴.

Open 致 →

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