Japanese proverbs
Overview
- a short sayingSayingA saying is something that is said, notable in one respect or another, to be "a pithy expression of wisdom or truth."There are a number of specific types of saying:...
(言い習わし iinarawashi), - an idiomIdiomIdiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...
atic phrase (慣用句 kan'yōku), or - a four-character idiom (四字熟語 yojijukugoYojijukugois a Japanese lexeme consisting of four kanji, or "Chinese characters". English translations of yojijukugo include "four-character compound", "four-character idiom", "four-character idiomatic phrase", and "four-character idiomatic compound"....
).
Although "proverb" and "saying" are practically synonymous, the same cannot be said about "idiomatic phrase" and "four-character idiom". Not all kan'yōku and yojijukugo are proverbial.
Quotations
案ずるより産むが易し。
Anzuru yori umu ga yasashi.
馬鹿は死ななきゃ治らない。
Baka wa shinanakya naoranai.
挨拶は時の氏神。
Aisatsu wa toki no ujigami.
秋茄子は嫁に食わすな。
Akinasu wa yome ni kuwasuna.
悪妻は百年の不作。
Akusai wa hyaku-nen no fusaku.
残り物には福がある。
Nokorimono ni wa fuku ga aru.
虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず。
Koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu.
晴天の霹靂
Seiten no heki-reki.
猿も木から落ちる。
Saru mo ki kara ochiru.