Detailed Translation Comparison
Quote by Lao Tzu
đĄ Tip: Compare these two translations side-by-side. Use the voting buttons to indicate which translation you prefer. The metrics below show detailed differences in length, word count, and similarity.
English
Translation 1
58
When the government is non-discriminative and dull, The people are contented and generous. When the government is searching and discriminative, The people are disappointed and contentious.
Calamity is that upon which happiness depends; Happiness is that in which calamity is latent.
Who knows when the limit will be reached? Is there no correctness (used to govern the world)? Then the correct again becomes the perverse. And the good again will become evil. The people have been deluded for a long time.
Therefore the sage is as pointed as a square but does not pierce. He is as acute as a knife but does not cut. He is as straight as an unbent line but does not extend. He is as bright as light but does not dazzle.
Characters:
721
Words:
128
Comments:
0
Last updated:
2026-02-13 13:43
Chinese
Translation 2
58
qi zheng men men,
qi min chun chun.
qi zheng cha cha,
qi min que que.
huo xi, fu zhi suo yi,
fu xi, huo zhi suo fu.
shu zhi qi ji?
qi wu zheng ye.
zheng fu wei qi,
shan fu wei yao,
ren zhi mi, qi ri gu jiu!
shi yi sheng ren
fang er bu ge,
lian er bu gui,
zhi er bu si,
guang er bu yao.
Characters:
289
Words:
72
Comments:
0
Last updated:
2026-02-13 13:43
Comparison Metrics
Character Difference
-432
chars shorter
Translation 2 vs Translation 1
Word Count Difference
-56
words less
Translation 2 vs Translation 1
Similarity Score
12.1%
Very different approaches
âšī¸ Understanding the Metrics:
- 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)
- These metrics help you understand stylistic differences, but don't necessarily indicate translation quality