HSK 5 · VERSION 2.0#78

Expressing “Equal To” with “děngyú”

等于

děngyú

How it works

等于 (děngyú) literally means “to equal.” In addition to mathematical meaning, it is often used metaphorically to mean:

to amount to

to be the same as

to be equivalent to

你现在什么都不说，等于默认了这个决定。

Nǐ xiànzài shénme dōu bù shuō, děngyú mòrèn le zhège juédìng.

If you say nothing now, that is equivalent to accepting this decision by default.

对一个团队来说，失去信任几乎等于失去继续合作的基础。

Duì yí ge tuánduì láishuō, shīqù xìnrèn jīhū děngyú shīqù jìxù hézuò de jīchǔ.

For a team, losing trust is almost equivalent to losing the basis for continued cooperation.

这个项目如果现在停下来，前面的努力就等于白费了。

Zhège xiàngmù rúguǒ xiànzài tíng xiàlái, qiánmiàn de nǔlì jiù děngyú báifèi le.

If this project stops now, the earlier effort will amount to having been wasted.

Advanced 等于 (děngyú) is often used in reasoning and judgment, not just in math.