諺（ことわざ）, proverbs, are sayings (言い習わし) which demonstrate some common virtue or truth to which all of society can relate. Free translation is often needed to make them sensible to English speakers, but in many instances, there will actually be a fairly similar English equivalent.
Proverbs 諺
There is no method as to how the proverbs below are listed. The reasoning for this is simple: to create a microcosm of how you would otherwise encounter these gems of knowledge in real life – one at a time, and when you discover them.
案ずるより生むが易し1。
Literally: Giving birth is easier than worrying about it.
Fear is often greater than the danger.
天は自ら助くる2ものを助く。
Heaven helps those who help themselves.
鰻の寝床。
Literally: Sleeping grounds of eels.
Long, thin building or room (emblematic of Kyoto).
全ての道はローマに通ず。
All roads lead to Rome.
見ぬ3が花。
Literally: What does not see is the flower.
1. Reality can’t compete with imagination.
2. Prospect is often better than possession.
寝耳に水
Literally: Water in the ears when one is sleeping
Bolt from the blue
一年の計は元旦にあり。
Literally: The plans for the year are on New Year’s Day.
New Year’s Day is the key to the year.
魚心あれば水心（あり）
Literally: If a fish has the mind of being one with the water, the water also has the mind of being one with the fish
You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.
一を聞いて十を知る。
Hear one and know ten.
To be quick on the uptake.
猫に小判。
Literally: (Giving) a koban4 to a cat.
Casting pearls before swine.
漁夫の利
Literally: A fisherman’s profit
Profiting while others fight
毒をもって毒を制す。
Literally: To use poison against poison.
To fight fire with fire.
宝の持ち腐れ
Literally: Letting gems rot away
Waste of talent
尻切れトンボ
Literally: A dragonfly with its ass cut off
Leaving things unfinished
七転び八起き。
Literally: Falling seven times, getting up eight.
1. Keep trying when life knocks you down.
2. Life is full of ups and downs.
ペンは剣よりも強し。
The pen is mightier than the sword.
団栗の背比べ。
Literally: Comparing the height of acorns.
Being more or less the same as the next.
言わぬが花。
What does not speak is the flower.
Silence is golden.
諸刃の剣
A double-edged sword
火のないところには煙は立たぬ。
Literally: Smoke does not rise from a place that does not have fire.
Where there is smoke, there is fire.
藪をつついて蛇を出す。
Poke through a bush and a snake will come out.
1. To stir up trouble for oneself.
2. Let sleeping dogs lie.
豚に真珠。
Literally: (Giving) pearls to swine.
Casting pearls before swine.
鶴の声
Literally: A crane’s voice
The more powerful voice decides an argument
月夜に提灯。
Literally: A paper lantern in a moonlit night
Holding a flashlight in broad daylight
井の中の蛙5大海を知らず。
The frog in the well does not know of the great ocean.
A person who is ignorant of the world.
馬の耳に念仏。
Literally: Chanting the nembutsu into a horse’s ear
A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse.
縁の下の力持ち。
Literally: A strong person under the veranda
Someone of great importance in the background.
ローマは一日にして成らず。
Rome was not built in a day.
口は禍の元。
Literally: The mouth is the source of disaster.
The tongue is the root of calamities.
良薬は口に苦し。
Literally: Good medicine tastes bitter in the mouth.
Good advice is hard to swallow.
借りてきた猫
Literally: A borrowed cat
Being quiet and meek.
住めば都。
Literally: When you live (somewhere, it becomes your) capital.
Home is where you make it.
多々益々弁ず。
Literally: Managing more and more.
1. The busier you are, the better you work.
2. The more, the better.
河童も川流れ。
Literally: Even a kappa6 can get carried down a river.
Everyone makes mistakes.
蚤の夫婦
Literally: A flee couple
A couple in which the woman is bigger than the man
上には上がある。
Literally: There is a top on the top.
There is always someone better than you.
石の上にも三年。
Literally: Three years on a stone (will make it warm)
Perseverance prevails.
落花枝に帰らず（、破鏡再び照らさず）。
Literally: A fallen blossom does not return to its branch; a broken mirror cannot be made to shine.
What’s done is done.
沈む瀬あれば浮かぶ瀬あり。
Literally: If a current is to sink, (another) current shall rise up.
He who falls today may rise tomorrow.
為せば成る。
Literally: If you do, it will happen.
You can do anything you put your mind to doing.
乞食を三日すればやめられぬ。
Literally: If you beg for three days, you will not be able to quit.
Once a good-for-nothing, always a good-for-nothing.
急がば7回れ。
Literally: If you are in a hurry, go around.
Slow and steady wins the race.
噂をすれば影が射す。
Literally: If you gossip, the shadows will strike.
Speak of the Devil
前門の虎、後門の狼
Literally: A tiger at the front gate and a wolf at the back gate.
Out of the frying pan, into the fire.
弘法筆を択ばず。
Literally: Kōbō8 doesn’t choose the brush.
A good workman does not blame his tools.
早起きは三文の得。
Literally: Waking up early gets you three mon9.
The early bird catches the worm.
年寄りの冷や水。
Literally: An old person’s cold water.
An old man’s indiscretions.
来年のことを言えば鬼が笑う。
Literally: Demons laugh when you talk of next year.
No one knows what tomorrow brings.
光陰矢の如し。
Literally: Father Time is like an arrow.
Time flies.
一寸先は闇。
Literally: A sun10 ahead is darkness.
The future is unpredictable.
身から出た錆
Literally: Rust from the blade
What goes around comes around.
捕らぬ狸11の皮算用をするな。
Literally: Do not count the tanuki skins that you have not caught yet.
Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.
過ぎたるは猶及ばざるが如し。
Literally: Doing too much is the same as doing naught.
The last drop makes the cup run over.
転石苔を生せず。
Literally: A rolling stone gathers no moss.
1. Those who are active make progress.
2. Those who frequently change jobs can’t be successful in life.
塵も積もれば山となる。
Literally: When even dust piles up, it becomes a mountain.
1. Little things add up.
2. Little and often fills the purse.
3. Many a little makes a nickel.
損して得取る。
Literally: Take a loss, then take a gain.
One step back, two steps forward.
三度目の正直
Literally: Third time certainty.
Third time’s a charm.
釈迦に説法
Literally: Teaching Buddhism to Buddha
Preaching to the choir.
脳ある鷹は爪を隠す。
Literally: A hawk with talent hides its claws.
The one who knows most often says the least.
頭を隠して尻を隠さず。
Literally: Hiding one’s face but not one’s ass.
Don’t expose your weak spot when protecting yourself.
三人寄れば文殊の智慧。
If three gather, (that is the) wisdom of Manjushri12.
Three heads are better than two.
溺れる者は藁をも掴む。
A drowning man will clutch at a straw.
仏の顔も三度。
Literally: (If you touch) the Buddha’s face three times(, he will get annoyed).
To try a saint’s patience.
悪妻は六十年の不作。
Literally: A bad wife will (result in) bad harvest of sixty years.
A bad wife is the ruin of her husband.
触らぬ神に祟りなし。
Literally: An undisturbed god does not wreak havoc.
Let sleeping dogs lie.
悪事千里を走る。
Literally: Running 1000 ri13 from a wicked deed.
Ill news runs apace.
枯れ木も山の賑わい
Literally: Even a dead tree adds to the interest of a mountain.
Half a loaf is better than none.
旅の恥は掻き捨てて。
Literally: Shame committed on a journey can be scratched away.
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
雲泥の差。
Literally: The difference between clouds and mud.
A world of difference
初心忘るべからず。
We mustn’t forget our beginner’s spirit.
小人14閑居して不善を為す。
People who lack virtue commit vice in their free time.
An idle brain is the devil’s shop.
二兎を追う者は一兎をも得ず。
If you run after two hares, you will catch neither.
門前市をなす。
Literally: To produce a market outside a gate.
To have a constant stream of visitors.
他人の飯を食う。
Literally: To eat another’s person’s food..
To experience the hardships of the world everyday.
情けは人の為ならず。
Literally: Kindness is not for others.
Compassion is not for other people’s benefit.
餅は餅屋
Literally: A mochi place is (where to go) for mochi.
Leave things to the experts.
宵越しの金を持たぬ。
Literally: To not have the money to pass the evening.
To spend one’s money as quickly as one earns it.
青年重ねて来たらず。
Literally: One’s prime years do not return.
You are only young once.
腐っても鯛
Literally: Even if it rots, (it’s still a) sea bream
If something has value, it does not matter what shape it is in.
李下瓜田
Literally: A melon field below a plum tree.
Leave no room for scandal.
三つ子の魂百まで
Literally: The spirit of a three year old until 100
As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.
かわいい子には旅をさせよ。
Literally: Make pretty kids take trips.
Spare the rod and spoil the child.
焼餅焼くとて手を焼くな。
Literally: Even if you burn yakimochi, do not burn your hands as well.
Keep your jealousy in check, lest you invite misfortune.
李下の冠を正さず。
Literally: To not rectify there being a crown below a plum tree.
Do not do anything that can be misinterpreted.
腹八分目に医者いらず
Literally: You do not need a doctor if your stomach is only 8/10ths full.
Eating moderately keeps the doctor away.
出る杭は打たれる。
Literally: The stake that sticks out will get hammered.
The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.
知らぬが仏。
Literally: The one who does not know is Buddha.
Ignorance is bliss.
笑う門には福来（きた）る。
Via the gate of laughing, there is good fortune.
Good fortune and happiness will come to the home of those who smile.
猿も木から落ちる。
Even monkeys fall from trees.
1. Everyone makes mistakes.
2. Pride comes before a fall.
泥棒を捕らえて縄を綯う。
Literally: Catching a thief and tying him up.
Do not lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen
人は見かけによらぬもの
People are not to be judged by their looks.
花より団子。
Literally: Dumplings over flowers.
1. To prefer substance over style.
2. People are more interested in the practical over the aesthetic.
鳴く猫はねずみを捕らぬ。
Literally: Loud cats do not catch mice.
Empty vessels make the most sound.
濡れぬ先の傘。
Literally: The not wet end of an umbrella.
Better safe than sorry.
弘法にも筆の誤り。
Literally: Even Kōbō made mistakes with the brush.
Even experts have their shortfalls.
寄らば大樹の陰
Literally: Look for a big tree for shade.
Serve the powerful for your own good.
目には目を、歯には歯を。
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
石橋を叩いて渡る。
Literally: To hit a stone bridge, then cross it.
Safety on top of safety.
立つ鳥跡を濁さず。
Literally: A bird does not foul the nest it is about to leave.
It is common courtesy to clean after yourself.
蓼食う虫も好き好き。
Literally: Even knot-weed eating insects have various tastes.
Some prefer nettles.
喉元過ぎれば熱さを忘れる。
Literally: If it passes the throat, you forget the heat.
Danger past and God forgotten.
時は金なり。
Time is money.
人のふり見て我がふり直せ。
Literally: Watch other’s actions, and fix one’s own.
One man’s fault is another’s lesson.
生兵法は大怪我のもと。
Literally: Crude tactics are the source of great blunders.
A little learning is a dangerous thing.
隣の芝生は青い。
Literally: The next door lawn is green.
The grass is always greener on the other side.
隣の花は赤い。
Literally: The flowers next door are red.
Grass is always greener on the other side.
郷に入っては郷に従え。
Literally: When you enter a village, obey the village.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
焼け石に水。
Literally: Water on burning rocks.
A drop in the bucket.
男心と秋の空。
Literally: A man’s heart and the autumn sky.
Autumn weather is as fickle as a man’s heart.
玉に瑕
Literally: A flaw on a gem
Fly in the ointment.
二階から目薬
Literally: (Applying) eye drops from the second floor
A roundabout and inefficient means of doing something
痘痕も笑窪
Literally: (When in love) pockmarks are dimples.
Love is blind.
匙を投げる。
Literally: To throw the spoon.
To throw in the towel.
鴨が葱を背負って来る。
Literally: A duck comes back carrying a leek on its back.
Along comes a sucker just begging to be parted from his money.
無い袖は振れぬ。
Literally: One cannot wave without a sleeve.
A man cannot give what he does not have.
濡れ衣を着せる。
Literally: To make someone wear wet clothes.
To falsely accuse someone of a crime.
覆水盆に返らず。
Literally: Spilled water does not return to the tray.
It’s no use crying over spilled milk.
終わりよければ全てよし。
All’s well that ends well.
泣き面に蜂。
A bee to a crying face.
When it rains, it pours.
叩けば埃が出る。
Literally: If you strike it, dust will come out.
Everything has flaws.
虻蜂取らず
Literally: Neither catching the horsefly nor the bee.
To accomplish nothing.
犬猿の仲。
Literally: The relationship between dogs and monkeys.
Natural enemies.
挨拶は時の氏神
Arbitration is (like abiding by) deity of time.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
千里の道も一歩から
A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step
惚れてしまえば痘痕も笑窪。
Literally: When one falls in love, even pockmarks are dimples.
She who loves an ugly man thinks him handsome.
堪忍袋の緒が切れる。
Literally: For the string on one’s stock of patience snaps.
To be out of patience.
麻の中の蓬
Literally: A mugwort amongst hemp
Nurture beats nature.
朱に交われば赤くなる。
Literally: If you mix something with red, it too will become red.
People become like those around them.
絵に描いた餅
Literally: Rice cake drawn in a picture
A pie in the sky
門前の小僧習わぬ経を読む。
Literal: A novice before a gate reading an unlearned sutra.
You learn, without realizing it, from what is around you.
前事を忘れざるは後事の師なり。
Not forgetting the past is the teacher of the future.
秋茄子は嫁に食わすな。
Literally: Do not feed autumn eggplant to your wife.
Giving your wife something too delicious will reduce her fertility.
備えあれば憂いなし。
Literally: If you are prepared, there need be no worry.
It’s good to have a shelter against every storm.
袖振り合うも他生の縁。
Literally: Even sleeves waving together is due to karma of a previous life.
Even a chance acquaintance is preordained.
誰が猫の首に鈴をつけるか。
Who will bell the cat?
糠に釘。
Literally: A nail in rice bran.
All is lost that is given to a fool.
二足の草鞋を履く
Literally: To wear two pairs of sandals.
To have two irons in the fire.
猫を追うより皿を引け。
Literally: Take away the plate rather than chase the cat.
Attack the root of a problem.
- In Classical Japanese, the 終止形 of adjectives ended in し ↩︎
- In Classical Japanese, most 一段 verbs ending in /-eru/ in Modern Japanese were members of a verb class known as 下二段 verbs in which their 終止形 ended in /-u/ and their 連体形 ended in /-uru/. ↩︎
- In Classical Japanese, the 連体形 of a verb could be used as a nominalized phrase. In Modern Japanese, the same base must be followed by a nominalizer such as の or こと. ↩︎
- A koban 小判 is an oval coin made either of gold or silver from the Edo Period which was used as a form of currency. ↩︎
- In this proverb, 蛙 is read as かわず, which is the more poetic word for “frog.” ↩︎
- Kappa 河童 are mythical water-dwelling creatures in Japanese folklore. ↩︎
- In Classical Japanese, the particle ば went after the 未然形 to indicate a conditional statement as opposed to the 仮定形. ↩︎
- Kōbō 弘法 is a famous Buddhist monk remembered for founding the Shingon Sect (真言宗). ↩︎
- The mon 文 was a form of currency used in medieval Japan. ↩︎
- One sun 寸 is equivalent to three centimeters. ↩︎
- The tanuki 狸, also known in English as “raccoon dog” is a species of canid indigenous to Japan. ↩︎
- Manjushri is the Bodhisattva that represents transcendent wisdom. ↩︎
- A ri 里 is approximately 2.44 miles. ↩︎
- 小人（しょうじん） means “a person who lacks virtue,” and is not to be confused with 小人（こびと） meaning “dwarf.” ↩︎