Detailed Translation Comparison
Quote by Lao Tzu
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English
Translation 1
41
When the highest type of men hear Tao, The diligently practice it. When the average type of men hear Tao, They half believe in it.
When the lowest type of men hear Tao, They laugh heartily at it. If they did not laugh at it, it would not be Tao.
Therefore there is the established saying: The Tao which is bright appears to be dark. The Tao which goes forward appears to fall backward. The Tao which is level appears uneven. Great virtue appears like a valley (hollow). Great purity appears like disgrace. Far-reaching virtue appears as if insufficient.
Solid virtue appears as if unsteady. True substance appears to be changeable. The great square has no corners. The great implement (or talent) is slow to finish (or mature). Great music sounds faint. Great form has no shape.
Tao is hidden and nameless. Yet it is Tao alone that skillfully provides for all and brings them to perfection.
Characters:
894
Words:
158
Comments:
0
Last updated:
2026-02-13 13:43
French
Translation 2
41
Quand les lettrés supérieurs ont entendu parler du Tao, ils le pratiquent avec zÚle.
Quand les lettrés du second ordre ont entendu parler du Tao, tantÎt ils le conservent, tantÎt ils le perdent.
Quand les lettrés inférieurs ont entendu parler du Tao, ils le tournent en dérision. S'ils ne le tournaient pas en dérision, il ne mériterait pas le nom de Tao.
C'est pourquoi les Anciens disaient:
Celui qui a l'intelligence du Tao paraßt enveloppé de ténÚbres.
Celui qui est avancé dans le Tao ressemble à un homme arriéré.
Celui qui est Ă la hauteur du Tao ressemble Ă un homme vulgaire.
L'homme d'une vertu supérieure est comme une vallée.
L'homme d'une grande pureté est comme couvert d'opprobre.
L'homme d'un mérite immense paraßt frappé d'incapacité.
L'homme d'une vertu solide semble dénué d'activité.
L'homme simple est vrai semble vil et dégradé.
C'est un grand carrĂ© dont on ne voit pas les angles; un grand vase qui semble loin d'ĂȘtre achevĂ©; une grande voix dont le son est imperceptible; une grand image dont on n'aperçoit point la forme§
Le Tao se cache et personne ne peut le nommer.
Il sait prĂȘter (secours aux ĂȘtres) et les conduire Ă la perfection.
Characters:
1165
Words:
199
Comments:
0
Last updated:
2026-02-13 13:43
Comparison Metrics
Character Difference
+271
chars longer
Translation 2 vs Translation 1
Word Count Difference
+41
words more
Translation 2 vs Translation 1
Similarity Score
19.2%
Very different approaches
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- Character/Word Difference: Shows how much longer or shorter Translation 2 is compared to Translation 1
- Similarity Score: Measures how similar the two texts are based on character-level comparison (higher = more similar)
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