The article dwells on the issues beset with the comparative analysis of equivalence and non-equivalence of phraseological units. It is noted that the problems dealing with equivalence and non-equivalence form the key basis for the problems of translatability and untranslatability of language material. Here it is necessary to dwell on the linguistic features of these dichotomous concepts, around which quite heated debates and discussions are held in many linguistic studies.
Adducing the results of the analysis of the theme explored one can come to the conclusion that proverbs and sayings, i.e. phraseological units with a sentence structure can only be identified using sentences and the semantic integrity of a phraseological unit can be established by comparing its components meaning as individual words, as well as by identifying the peculiarities of its usage in the context.