混为一谈 confuse
Explanation
将本质不同的事物混淆在一起谈论，不加区分。
To confuse different things together and talk about them without distinction.
Origin Story
从前，在一个小山村里，住着一位老木匠和一位年轻的铁匠。老木匠技艺高超，制作的木器精美绝伦，远近闻名。年轻的铁匠则刚学成出师，技艺尚显稚嫩，但他为人热情好客，总爱邀请乡邻到他家做客，品尝他亲手酿造的美酒。 有一天，村长邀请老木匠和铁匠去他家共进晚餐。席间，村长指着摆在桌上的精巧木盒和铁匠新打造的铁锅，夸赞道：“老木匠的手艺真是令人叹为观止，而铁匠的铁锅也相当不错，你们两位都是我们村里的能工巧匠啊！” 铁匠听到村长的话，心里很高兴。他认为村长把木匠的手艺和他的手艺混为一谈了，其实这两人技艺的水平是截然不同的。他谦虚地说：“村长谬赞了，我的手艺和老木匠相比，差得远呢！老木匠的作品精雕细琢，栩栩如生，而我的铁锅只是寻常之物，根本无法与之相提并论。” 老木匠也笑了笑，说：“铁匠说的对，我们各有长处，不能混为一谈。我的木器适合精细活，铁匠的铁锅适合实用。
Once upon a time, in a small mountain village, there lived an old carpenter and a young blacksmith. The old carpenter was highly skilled, his woodworking exquisite and renowned far and wide. The young blacksmith, newly apprenticed, was still quite inexperienced, but he was warm and hospitable, always inviting neighbours to his home to sample his homemade wine. One day, the village headman invited both the carpenter and the blacksmith to dinner. During the meal, the headman, pointing to the exquisitely crafted wooden box and the blacksmith’s newly forged iron pot, praised: “The old carpenter’s craftsmanship is truly breathtaking, and the blacksmith’s pot is quite impressive too! You two are both skilled artisans of our village!” The blacksmith, delighted, felt the headman was conflating his skills with those of the carpenter. Their skill levels were vastly different. Humbly he said, “Headman, you flatter me. My skills are far inferior to the old carpenter’s. His works are meticulously crafted and lifelike, while my pot is an ordinary object, not comparable at all.” The old carpenter smiled, “The blacksmith is right, we each have our strengths. We shouldn’t be conflated. My woodworking is suited to detailed work, while the blacksmith’s pot is designed for practical use.”
Usage
用于否定句；作谓语、宾语。
Used in negative sentences; acts as predicate and object.
Examples
-
不能将两者混为一谈。
bù néng jiāng liǎng zhě hùn wéi yī tán
We cannot confuse the two.
-
他们的观点完全不同，不能混为一谈。
tāmen de guāndiǎn wánquán bùtóng, bù néng hùn wéi yī tán
Their views are totally different and should not be conflated.
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不要把这两个概念混为一谈。
bù yào bǎ zhè liǎng gè gài niàn hùn wéi yī tán
Don't confuse these two concepts.