Apples and Oranges - Variants

Variants

The idiom is not unique. In Quebec French, it may take the form comparer des pommes avec des oranges (to compare apples and oranges), while in European French the idiom says comparer des pommes et des poires (to compare apples and pears). In Latin American Spanish, it is usually comparar papas y boniatos (comparing potatoes and sweet potatoes) or comparar peras con manzanas (comparing pears and apples). In some other languages the term for orange derives from apple, suggesting not only that a direct comparison between the two is possible, but that it is implicitly present in their names. Fruit other than apples and oranges can also be compared; for example, apples and pears are compared in Danish, Dutch, German, Spanish, Swedish, Croatian, Czech, Romanian, Hungarian, Italian, Slovene, Luxembourgish, Bosnian, and Turkish. However, apples are actually more closely related to pears (both are rosaceae) than to oranges. In fact, in the Spanish-speaking world, a common idiom is sumar peras con manzanas, that is, to add pears and apples. The same thing applies in Romanian where a popular idiom is a aduna merele cu perele, that is again, to add apples and pears.

Some languages use completely different items, such as the Serbian Поредити бабе и жабе (comparing grandmothers and toads), or the Romanian baba şi mitraliera (the grandmother and the machine gun); vaca şi izmenele (the cow and the longjohns); or țiganul şi carioca (the gypsy and the marker), or the Welsh mor wahanol â mêl a menyn (as different as honey and butter), while some languages compare dissimilar properties of dissimilar items. For example, an equivalent Danish idiom, Hvad er højest, Rundetårn eller et tordenskrald? translates literally as What is highest, the Round Tower or a thunderclap? In Russian, the phrase сравнивать тёплое с мягким (to compare warm and soft) is used. In British English, the phrase chalk and cheese means the same thing as apples and oranges. In Argentina, a common question is ¿En qué se parecen el amor y el ojo del hacha? which translates into What do love and the eye of an axe have in common? and emphasizes dissimilarity between two subjects; in Colombia, a similar (though more rude) version is common: confundir la mierda con la pomada, literally, to confuse shit with apple salve. In Polish, the expression co ma piernik do wiatraka? is used, meaning What has (is) gingerbread to a windmill?. In Chinese, a phrase that has the similar meaning is 风马牛不相及 (fēng mǎ niú bù xiāng jí), literally meaning "horses and cattles won't cross into each other's area", and later used to describe things that are totally unrelated and incomparable.

A number of more exaggerated comparisons are sometimes made, in cases in which the speaker believes the two objects being compared are radically different beyond reproach. For example "oranges with orangutans", "apples with dishwashers", and so on. In English, different fruits, such as pears, plums, or lemons are sometimes substituted for oranges in this context.

Sometimes the two words sound similar, for example, Romanian merele cu perele (apples and pears) and the Hungarian szezont a fazonnal (the season with the fashion).

A Hungarian expression with a somewhat modified meaning and construction is ízlések és pofonok (smacks and slaps). It refers to the fact that you cannot decide which one is better from things that depend only on the different tastes/preferences of people, just as you cannot compare two slaps in the face if they are received by separate people.

Further, the phrase "apples-with-apples comparison" is used when an attempt is made to make sure that the comparison is fair; for example, adjusting for inflation during a discussion of wages.