雲泥の差

Japanese

Kanji in this term
雲	泥	差
うん Grade: 2	でい Grade: S	さ Grade: 4
on'yomi	kan'on

Etymology

Phrase composed of 雲泥 (undei, “clouds and mud”) +‎ の (no, possessive particle) +‎ 差 (sa, “difference”).^[1][2][3][4] Compare Chinese 雲泥之別／云泥之别 (yúnní zhī bié), 雲泥之差／云泥之差 (yúnní zhī chā, “a stark difference”).

The full phrase is first cited to a Christian work from 1592.^[1] The term 雲泥 (undei, “clouds and mud”) is used on its own as a metaphor for a marked difference in citations as early as roughly 900 CE.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɯ̟̃nde̞ː no̞ sa̠]

Noun

雲(うん)泥(でい)の差(さ) • (undei no sa) 

1. [1592] (having) a great difference when compared with the same scale, one being far better than the other.

   Synonyms: 雲泥万里, 月と鼈

   Antonym: 大同小異

   • 1906, Natsume Soseki, Botchan:

     今(いま)まで物理学校(ぶつりがっこう)で毎日先生先生(まいにちせんせいせんせい)と呼(よ)びつけていたが、先生(せんせい)と呼(よ)ぶのと、呼(よ)ばれるのは雲泥(うんでい)の差(さ)だ。

     Ima made butsuri gakkō de mainichi sensei sensei to yobitsuketeita ga, sensei to yobu no to, yobareru no wa undei no sa da.

     Up to now, in Physics School, I'd called out "professor, professor!" every day, but calling someone "professor" and being called "professor" myself was as different as clouds and mud.

References

1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
3. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
4. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN