#あ

[tokidokitokyo]

ことわざ 19/?

ことわざ are Japanese proverbs, and I have listed some basic proverbs, their equivalents in English, and a rough translation of the meanings of the Japanese phrase.

There is a test for ことわざ called the ことわざ能力検定 (ことわざのうりょくけんてい) and these are some of the phrases that appear in level 8 or 8級 (10 being the lowest level). For the time being, try one or two of these out the next time you speak with a native Japanese speaker!

More ことわざ (こと検9級): 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 Even More ことわざ (こと検10級): 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

青い鳥

あおいとり

happiness taken for granted

from the play The Blue Bird, where two siblings search for the bluebird of happiness while the bluebird was actually in a cage in their home all along

足元から鳥が立つよう

あしもとからとりがたつ

① suddenly

② without warning; out of nowhere

the way birds take off from under foot as you approach

虻蜂取らず

あぶはちとらず

one who runs after two hares will catch neither

a spider trying to get both flies and bees catches neither

蟻の穴から堤も崩れる

ありのあなからつつみもくずれる

little strokes fell great oaks

a hole dug by an ant can collapse a dam

蟻の歩み

ありのあゆみ

a snail's pace

an ant's walking pace

蟻の這い出る隙もない

ありのはいでるすきもない

a tight perimeter

so tight there is no space for an ant to crawl out

生き馬の目を抜く

いきうまのめをぬく

sharp as a tack

rip out the eye from a living horse

鶍の嘴の食い違い

いすかのはしのくいちがい

a difference of opinion; a discrepancy

a difference of opinion that doesn't line up like the bill of a crossbeak (bird)

鼬ごっこ

いたちごっこ

a game of cat and mouse

playing weasel

鼬の最後っ屁

いたちのさいごっぺ

hitting the panic button

a weasel's last-ditch fart

犬に論語

いぬにろんご

like talking to a wall

teaching the Analects of Confucius to a dog

犬の尾を食うて回る

いぬのおをくうてまわる

chasing your tail

a dog running in circles trying to bite its tail

犬は人に付き猫は家に付く

いぬはひとにつきねこはいえにつく

a dog is loyal to its master, a cat, to its home

a dog sticks by a person and a cat sticks with its home

犬は三日飼えば三年恩を忘れぬ

いぬはみっかかえばさんねんおんをわすれぬ

dog is man's best friend

feed a dog for 3 days, it won't forget that kindness for 3 years

烏合之衆

うごうのしゅう

a disorganized mob

like a group of crows together (also 烏合の衆)

牛に引かれて善光寺参り

うしにひかれてぜんこうじまいり

serendipity

from a story where an old lady sees the neighbor's cow pull her garment off the clothesline, so she chases it and ends up visiting Zenkoji Temple, where she is enlightened

牛の歩み

うしのあゆみ

a snail's pace

a cow's walking pace

牛を馬に乗り換える

うしをうまにのりかえる

to trade a loser for a winner

switch from riding a cow (slow) to riding a horse (fast)

有象無象

うぞうむぞう

the unwashed masses

all manner of beings having form or lacking form

鰻の寝床

うなぎのねどこ

a long, narrow interior

an eel's bed

鰻登り

うなぎのぼり

① upward momentum

② skyrocketing; going through the roof

a rising line that looks like an eel

鵜の真似をする烏

うのまねをするからす

a poor man's …

a crow imitating a cormorant

鵜呑みにする

うのみにする

① to take at face value

② to swallow hook, line and sinker

to swallow something whole like how a cormorant eats

鵜の目鷹の目

うのめたかのめ

search like a hawk

cormorant eyes and hawk eyes (birds that search for prey from the sky and dive in for the kill)

馬が合う

うまがあう

to get along well; to have a lot in common

like a perfect match of rider and horse

馬には乗ってみよ人には添うてみよ

うまにはのってみよひとはそうてみよ

walk a mile in someone else's shoes

ride a horse or spend time beside a person before you judge them

馬の背を分ける

うまのせをわける

raining here but clear the next town over

like how rain will divide a horse's back, water runs down one side and the other stays dry

馬の耳に念仏

うまのみみにねんぶつ

like talking to a wall

speaking Buddhist prayers into the ear of a horse

梅に鶯

うめにうぐいす

goes together like spaghetti and meatballs; goes together like eggs and bacon

goes together like plums and nightingales

燕雀安んぞ鴻鵠の志を知らんや

えんじゃくいずくんぞこうこくのこころざしをしらんや

the small-minded cannot comprehend the ambitions of the great

how can small birds like swallows and sparrows understand the will of large birds like geese and swans

老いたる馬は道を忘れず

おいたるうまはみちをわすれず

an old horse never loses its way

an old horse never forgets the road home

鸚鵡返し

おうむがえし

parroting; blindly repeating

returning words like a parrot

陸に上がった河童

おかにあがったかっぱ

a fish out of water

a kappa up on land

同じ穴の狢

おなじあなのむじな

of the same stripe

badgers of the same hole

鬼が出るか蛇が出るか

おにがでるかじゃがでるか

what horrible fate awaits us…?

will a demon come out? or just a snake?

鬼の居ぬ間に洗濯

おにのいぬまにせんたく

while the cat's away the mice will play

laundry while the demon is not here (demon is a metaphor for the head of the household; 洗濯=命の洗濯 meaning to take a load off and relax)

鬼の首を取ったよう

おにのくびをとったよう

beaming with pride

like you took the head of the demon

鬼も十八、番茶も出花

おにもじゅうはち、ばんちゃもでばな

to everything there is a season

even demons are lovely at 18, a flower blooms even from Bancha (coarse tea)

尾鰭が付く

おひれがつく

embellished; a tall tale

a story with a tail fin stuck on

[adequately]

「あ」を使ってざるうどんをつくりました

[paradiseyuri]

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[blushy-blossom]

🌸My Edit🌸

Hiragana - あ - a

[akubihmk]

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あぁあぁあぁああぁあぁああぁ

[amkttwttxtxkput]

たかさたな

[silky-selkie]

He has been imprisoned for impersonating a single grain of rice

[enmi3]

あ

[imasika]

あ

[i-am-aprl]

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[aiyco]

料理の完成写真に「センスに脱帽」「爆笑した」　普通じゃないパスタに注目！ – grape [グレイプ]

逆に、デザインあneoじゃないのかーい！笑。

どういうことかーい？笑。

[futatsunoizumi2000]

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