pot calling the kettle black

English

WOTD – 8 April 2007

Etymology

There are two interpretations of this phrase, though other sources give only the first interpretation.

In the first interpretation, it refers to the fact that both cast-iron pots' and kettles' bottoms turn equally black when hung over a fire, and thus the pot is accusing the kettle of a fault it shares.

In the second, subtler interpretation, the pot is sooty (being placed on a fire), while the kettle is clean and shiny (being placed on coals only), and hence when the pot accuses the kettle of being black, it is the pot’s own sooty reflection that it sees: the pot accuses the kettle of a fault that only the pot has.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɒt ˈkɔːliŋ ðə ˈkɛtl̩ ˈblæk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpɑt ˈkɔliŋ ðə ˈkɛtl̩ ˈblæk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Phrase

pot calling the kettle black

1. (idiomatic) A situation in which somebody comments on or accuses someone else of a fault which the accuser shares.

   I think it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black when she says he is obsessive.

Translations

situation in which somebody accuses someone else of a fault shared by the accuser

• Basque: zozoak beleari, ipurbeltz
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 自身毛病多，勿挑他人錯, 自身毛病多，勿挑他人错 (zìshēn máobìng duō, wù tiāo tārén cuò)

• Dutch: de pot verwijt de ketel dat hij zwart ziet
• Finnish: pata kattilaa soimaa
• French:
  • la pelle se moque du fourgon (the shovel laughs at the poker)
  • l'hôpital qui se moque de la charité (the hospital laughing at charity)
  • la paille et la poutre (the mote and the beam)
• Georgian: ყვავმა ყვავს უთხრა შე შავოო (qvavma qvavs ut’xra še šavoo)
• German: ein Esel schimpft den anderen Langohr
• Greek: είπε ο γάιδαρος τον πετεινό κεφάλα (el) (eípe o gáidaros ton peteinó kefála) (the donkey calling the cock "bighead")
• Hebrew: כל הפוסל במומו פוסל (he) (Kol HaPossel, B'mumo Possel) (All who disqualify [another due to a fault], disqualifies [him through the reflection] of his own fault)
• Hungarian: bagoly mondja verébnek, hogy nagyfejű
• Irish: casadh an chorcáin leis an gciteal (the pot’s reproach against the kettle), an óinseach ag aoir ar an amadán (the foolish woman making fun of the foolish man)
• Japanese: 目糞鼻糞を笑う (ja) (めくそはなくそをわらう, mekuso hanakuso o warau) (the sleep in one's eyes laughs at the snot in one's nose)
• Persian: دیگ به دیگ می‌گه روت سیاه (dig be dig mige rut siyâh)

• Polish: przyganiał kocioł garnkowi
• Portuguese: roto falando do esparrado m
• Russian: в чужом глазу соринку заметно, в своём — бревна не видать (v čužóm glazú sorínku zametno, v svojóm - brevná ne vidátʹ) (in other's eye one can notice a mote, in one's own - can't see a log), чья бы корова мычала, а твоя б молчала (čʹjá by koróva myčála, a tvojá b molčála) (other's cow could moo, but yours should better be silent)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ругала се шерпа лонцу широка му уста, ругала се руга па јој била друга

  Roman: rugala se šerpa loncu široka mu usta, rugala se ruga pa joj bila druga

• Spanish: le dijo la sartén al cazo, le dijo la sartén al cazo: ¡aparta que me tiznas!
• Swedish: kasta sten i glashus (sv), se grandet i grannens öga men inte bjälken i sitt eget
• Turkish: hem suçlu hem güçlü (tr) (lit. "to be guilty but strong as well" - To be guilty oneself, yet act innocent and not hesitate to impugn others.)
• Ukrainian:
  • дорікав горщик чавунові, що чорний (uk) (dorikav horščyk čavunovi, ščo čornyj) (the pot reproached the kettle for being black)
  • насміхалась верша з болота (nasmixalasʹ verša z bolota) (the fishing basket ridiculed the swamp)
  • не баче сова, яка сама (ne bače sova, jaka sama) (the owl doesn't see itself)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Albanian: I mjeri shan të përmjerrin. (The miserable reproaches the one who urinated on himself.)
• Arabic: "ان كان بيتك من زجاج فلا ترم الناس بالحجارة" (If your house is of glass, don't throw rocks at others.)
• Assamese: Hkhaale Hkhingik haanhe (The Shaal fish laughs at the Shingifish)
• Basque: Xoxoak beleari: Ipurbeltz!. (The blackbird to the crow: Black tail!)
• Bengali: Chaluni bole chhuch re tor Pichhe kano Chheda!. (The Sieve tells the needle to mind the hole in its back!)
• Czech: Konvice nazývá kotlík černým (The pot called the kettle black) Hrnec hrnci káže, oba černí jako saze – Čelakovský (Pot preaches to pot, both as black as soot.)
• Mandarin
  • ^{(please verify)} 烏鴉笑豬黑，自己不覺得 (The crow mocks the blackness of the pig, ignoring its own blackness. (an idiom from Sichuan)
  • ^{(please verify)} 龜笑鱉無尾 (The turtle makes fun of the trionychidaes that they are of short tails. (an idiom from Zhangzhou, Fujian)
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} Rugala se sova sjenici da ima velike oči (The owl mocked the tit for having large eyes)
• Danish: ^{(please verify)} Man skal ikke kaste med sten hvis man selv bor i et glashus (You shouldn't throw rocks if you live in a house of glass)
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} De pot verwijt de ketel dat hij zwart ziet (The pot reproaches the kettle for looking black)
• Estonian: ^{(please verify)} Pada sõimab katelt, ühed mustad mõlemad (The pot reproaches the kettle – but they are both black)
• French: ^{(please verify)} La pelle se moque du fourgon (The shovel mocks the poker)
• German: ^{(please verify)} Ein Esel schimpft den anderen Langohr (One donkey calls the other one longears),
  • rechter Pantoffel schimpft über linken Pantoffel
  • Wer im Glashaus sitzt, soll nicht mit Steinen werfen (Who sits in the glass house, shouldn't throw stones)
• Indonesian:
  • ^{(please verify)} Maling teriak maling (Like a thief calling out another thief)
  • ^{(please verify)} Maling teriak rampok (The thief shouting robber)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} Il bue che dice cornuto all'asino
• Japanese: ^{(please verify)} 目糞鼻糞 from ^{(please verify)} 目糞が鼻糞を笑う (Eye wax and snot" shortened from "Eye wax laughing at the snot)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} "똥 묻은 개가 겨 묻은 개 나무란다" ("ttong mudeun gaega gyeo mudeun gae namuranda") (The dung-stained dog reproaches the chaff-stained dog.), ^{(please verify)} 겨 묻은 개가 똥 묻은 개를 흉본다 (gyeo mudeun gaega ttong mudeun gaereul hyungbonda) (The chaff-stained dog disparages the dung-stained dog.)
• Lithuanian: ^{(please verify)} "Juokiasi puodas, kad katilas juodas" (The pot laughing at a black kettle)
• Malay
  • ^{(please verify)} "Periuk mengumpat belanga" (The metal pot tattling about the clay pot.)
• Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} Å kaste sten i glasshus (To throw stones in a glass house)
• Marathi: Chorachya ultya bomba (A thief becomes accuser)
• Persian
  • ^{(please verify)} دیگ به دیگ می‌گه روت سیاه (The pot tells the other pot your face is black)
• Portuguese
  • ^{(please verify)} Olha pra teu nariz (Look at your nose, implying they also have dirt on their nose.)
  • ^{(please verify)} O sujo falando do mal lavado (The dirty is talking about the half clean)
  • ^{(please verify)} O porco falando do toucinho (The pig talking about the bacon)
  • ^{(please verify)} Quem tem telhados de vidro não atira pedras (People with glass roofs don't throw stones)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} Râde ciob de oală spartă (Potsherd laughs at the cracked pot)
• Serbo-Croatian: Rugala se šerpa loncu, a i ona garava (The casserole laughs at the pot, and they are both sooty)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} Apártate que me tiznas, dijo la sartén al cazo (Move away, you are blackening me, said the pan to the pot) ^{(please verify)} El burro hablando de orejas (The donkey talking about ears)
  • México: El comál le dijo a la olla (The grill said to the pot)
  • Venezuela: Cachicamo diciéndole a morrocoy conchúo (An armadillo telling a turtle it is too hard shelled)
  • Colombia: Un burro hablando de orejas (A donkey talking about ears)
  • Perú: La olla le dice a la sartén (The pot said to the frying pan)
• Swedish
  • ^{(please verify)} Kasta inte sten i glashus (Don't throw stones in glass houses)
• Thai: ^{(please verify)} ว่าแต่เขา อิเหนาเป็นเอง (wâa dtàe kăo ì-năo bpen eng)) (Enau accuses others, but he himself is guilty)
• Turkish: "Tencere! Dibin kara." "Seninki benimkinden de kara". (One pot saying to another: "Pot, your bottom is black." – other pot replying back: "Yours is blacker than mine!")
• Vietnamese: ^{(please verify)} Chó chê mèo lắm lông (Dog ridicules cat for being hairy)

See also

• hypocrisy
• people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones
• methinks the lady doth protest too much
• hi pot, meet kettle and pot, meet kettle