Detailed Translation Comparison
Quote by Lao Tzu
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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
其政悶悶，
其民醇醇，
其政察察，
其民缺缺。
禍兮福所倚，
福兮禍所伏。
孰知其極，
其無正，
正復為奇，
善復為訞。
人之迷，其日固久。
是以聖人方而不割，
廉而不害，
直而不肆，
光而不曜。
Characters:
102
Words:
16
Comments:
0
Last updated:
2026-02-13 13:43
Comparison Metrics
Character Difference
-619
chars shorter
Translation 2 vs Translation 1
Word Count Difference
-112
words less
Translation 2 vs Translation 1
Similarity Score
1.4%
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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