半斤八两 Half a jin, eight liang
Explanation
比喻双方的水平或能力不相上下，不分高下。
It is used to describe two people or things with similar abilities or levels of proficiency.
Origin Story
话说古代有两个武林高手，一个叫李寻，一个叫张浩。他们为了争夺武林盟主之位，决定进行一场比武。比武当天，两人都使出了浑身解数，招式变化莫测，不相上下。李寻使出一招“飞龙在天”，张浩则用“虎啸山林”来抵挡。两人你来我往，打了几个回合，竟是难分胜负。围观的群众看得热血沸腾，纷纷叫好。最后，两人筋疲力尽，纷纷收招。裁判宣布，两人打成平手，真是半斤八两。这消息一出，江湖上议论纷纷。有人说，李寻内力深厚，但张浩招式精妙。也有人说，两人实力相当，只是比武时运气略有不同。总之，这场比武成为武林人士津津乐道的话题，而“半斤八两”也成为了人们用来形容双方实力相当的常用语。
Once upon a time, there were two martial arts masters, one named Li Xun and the other named Zhang Hao. To compete for the title of leader of the martial arts world, they decided to have a martial arts competition. On the day of the competition, both of them showed their best skills, and their moves were unpredictable. Li Xun used a move called “Flying Dragon in the Sky”, and Zhang Hao countered with “Tiger Roaring in the Mountains”. Back and forth they went, several rounds, with no winner decided. The audience was excited and cheered. Finally, both of them were exhausted, and they stopped fighting. The judge announced that it was a draw—a perfect tie, they were equally matched. This news spread throughout the martial arts world. Some said that Li Xun had deep internal strength, but Zhang Hao's techniques were more refined. Others said that the two were equally matched, only their luck in the fight was slightly different. In short, this competition became a popular topic among martial arts people, and "half a jin, eight liang" has since become a commonly used phrase to describe the fact that both sides are equally matched.
Usage
用作谓语、宾语、定语；指双方实力相当。
Used as predicate, object, attributive; refers to both sides being equally matched.
Examples
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他俩的水平半斤八两，难分伯仲。
ta lia de shuiping ban jin ba liang, nan fen bozhong.
Their skills are about equal.
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这两篇文章，水平半斤八两，都差不多。
zheliang pian wen zhang, shuiping ban jin ba liang, dou chabuduo
The quality of these two articles is similar; they are approximately equal.