apples and oranges

English

Alternative forms

• apples to oranges

Noun

apples and oranges

1. (idiomatic) Said of a comparison of items that are not comparable.

   It's apples and oranges. You can't convert square meters to linear inches.

   Comparing the grades of English students to Engineering students is like trying to compare apples and oranges.

2. Used other than as an idiom: see apples,‎ and,‎ oranges.

Antonyms

• apples to apples, apples with apples
• apples to apples, oranges to oranges
• oranges with oranges (rare)

Related terms

• mix apples and oranges

Translations

non-comparable items

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 风马牛不相及 (zh)

• Czech: hrušky s jablky
• Dutch: appels met peren pl
• French: mélanger des choux et des carottes (fr)
• German: Äpfel und Birnen; Äpfel und Birnen vergleichen; Äpfel mit Birnen vergleichen (de)
• Italian: mele e pere f pl
• Kurdish: tirr li kû û das li kû (ku)
• Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: му́хи отде́льно, котле́ты отде́льно ‎(múxi otdélʹno, kotléty otdélʹno) (houseflies separately from cutlets/rissoles)

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ба̏бе и жа̏бе, кру̏шке и ја̏буке

  Roman: bȁbe i žȁbe, krȕške i jȁbuke

• Spanish: peras y manzanas f pl
• Swedish: äpplen och päron (apples and pears)

See also

• like-for-like