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While reading, I came across this sentence:

> 「上官が上官なら部下も部下だな」

What does this 「XがXなら、YもYだ」 pattern mean? "Like X, like Y"? "X will be X, and
Y will be Y"?
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2011-06-09T07:50:56.063
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2011-06-09T12:43:18.547
2011-06-09T08:56:07.950
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question
grammar
Meaning of pattern 「XがXなら、YもYだ」
In my understanding, that mean

> They all are the same

I would translate 上官が上官なら部下も部下だな as

Officer do (whatever they like), and also subordinates do the same thing, they
all are the same finally.
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2011-06-09T08:09:45.600
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I think that sentence has the same nuance as 「この親にしてこの子あり」. 「上官が上官なら部下も部下だな」is
a more offensive tone. I have seen "Like father, like son" in my homework
book.
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2011-06-09T09:25:47.523
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2011-06-09T09:25:47.523
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“XがXならYもYだ” means that X is bad in some sense and it explains that Y is bad in
the same way. Therefore 上官が上官なら部下も部下だ can be translated as “like officer, like
his subordinate,” but it is only used to mean the similarity in something bad.
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2011-06-09T12:43:18.547
880
2011-06-09T12:43:18.547
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answer