"[a/the] equivalent of" vs. "[a/the] equivalent for" vs. "[a/the] equivalent to"
I learned a simple trick a long, long time ago that still serves me to this day when dealing with prepositions, which admittedly, as a native speaker come naturally to me but I still found this useful.
If you turn the sentence around to lead with the prepositional phrase, would it still make sense? Let's try it out...
To the French phrase "broyer du noir", is there any British/American equivalent? Does this make sense? No, it does not.
Of the French phrase "broyer du noir", is there any British/American equivalent? Does this make sense? No, it does not.
For the French phrase "broyer du noir", is there any British/American equivalent? Does this make sense? Yes, it does!
I'm sure that there are other members of this community that can give you the wherefor's and why's regarding preposition usage but I've found this KISS (keep is simple sweetie) approach the easiest to explain to non-native speakers.
equivalent to <thing> when two things may be substituted for one another
Is there any British/American equivalent to the French phrase "broyer du noir"?
equivalent for <field> when a thing is like something in another field
"Mare" is the word for a female horse. What is the equivalent for dogs
equivalent of <thing> is the same as equivalent to <thing>. The former is used in the definite, the latter the indefinite, ie. one says "an equivalent to", but "the equivalent of".
equivalent in <language/place>
There is a phrase "broyer du noir", what is the equivalent in English?
Paris has the Louvre museum. Is there something equivalent in London?
To, for, of or none of the above. None of the above (foregoing): Professionally trained translators don't talk about equivalents or equivalency. They talk about equivalent meanings or equivalency of meaning. Therefore, one would say it like this: Is there a British/American phrase that is equivalent in meaning to the French phrase "broyer du noir"? That said, in English, to be idiomatic one has to say /equivalent to/. Sixteen ounces is equivalent to one pound.