Japanese proverbs

Sayings

A wise man hears one and understands ten.

  • 案ずるより産むが易し。
    • Anzuru yori umu ga yasashi.
    • Literally: Attempt is sometimes easier than expected.
  • 馬鹿は死ななきゃ治らない。
    • Baka wa shinanakya naoranai.
    • Literally: Unless an idiot dies, he won't be cured.


  • 出る杭は打たれる。
    • Deru kui wa utareru.
    • Literally: The stake that sticks out gets hammered down.
    • or Deru kugi wa utareru
    • Literally: The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.


  • 挨拶は時の氏神。
    • Aisatsu wa toki no ujigami.
    • Literally: Greetings are the people who turn up at the right moment.


  • 秋茄子は嫁に食わすな。
    • Akinasu wa yome ni kuwasuna.
    • Literally: Don't let your daughter-in-law eat your autumn eggplants.


  • 悪妻は百年の不作。
    • Akusai wa hyaku-nen no fusaku.
    • Literally: A bad wife spells a hundred years of bad harvest.


  • 残り物には福がある。
    • Nokorimono ni wa fuku ga aru.
    • Literally: Luck exists in the leftovers.
  • 虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず。
    • Koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu.
    • Literally: If you do not enter the tiger's cave, you will not catch its cub.


  • 晴天の霹靂
    • Seiten no heki-reki.
    • Literally: Thunderclap from a clear sky.
  • 猿も木から落ちる。
    • Saru mo ki kara ochiru.
    • Literally: Even monkeys fall from trees.
  • 蓼食う虫も好き好き
    • Tade kuu mushi mo sukizuki
    • Literally: There are even bugs that eat knotweed.


  • 井の中の蛙大海を知らず。
    • I no naka no kawazu taikai wo shirazu.
    • Literally: A frog in a well does not know the great sea.
  • 蛙の子は蛙。
    • Kaeru no ko wa kaeru.
    • Literally: Child of a frog is a frog.
  • 鳶が鷹を産む。
    • Tonbi (or Tobi) ga taka wo umu.
    • Literally: A kite breeding a hawk.


  • 覆水盆に帰らず。
    • Fukusui bon ni kaerazu.
    • Literally: Spilt water will not return to the tray.


  • 二兎を追う者は一兎をも得ず。
    • Ni usagi wo ou mono wa ichi usagi wo mo ezu.
    • Literally: One who chases after two hares won't catch even one.

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  • 継続は力なり。
    • Keizoku wa chikara nari.
    • Literally: Continuance is strength.


  • 門前の小僧習わぬ経を読む。
    • Mon zen no kozō narawanu kyō wo yomu.
    • Literally: The young monk before the gate can read sutra without studying them.


  • 知らぬが仏
    • Shiranu ga hotoke.
    • Literally: Not knowing is Buddha.


  • 見ぬが花
    • Minu ga hana.
    • Literally: Not seeing is a flower.


  • 能ある鷹は爪を隠す。
    • Nō aru taka wa tsume wo kakusu.
    • Literally: The talented hawk hides its claws
      • A wise man keeps some of his talents in reserve

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