Editing Japanese proverbs

{{Short description|Linguistic family of idiomatic expressions}}
{{morefootnotes|date=August 2015}}
A {{nihongo|'''Japanese proverb'''|[[wikt:諺|諺]], ことわざ|kotowaza}} may take the form of:

*a {{nihongo|short [[saying]]|言い習わし|iinarawashi}},
*an {{nihongo|[[idiom]]atic phrase|慣用句|kan'yōku}}, or
*a {{nihongo|four-character idiom|四字熟語|[[yojijukugo]]}}.

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. For instance, the ''kan'yōku'' {{nihongo3|literally 'a [[fox]]'s wedding', meaning "a [[sunshower]]"|狐の嫁入り|[[kitsune no yomeiri]]}} and the ''yojijukugo'' {{nihongo3|literally 'small spring weather', meaning "[[Indian summer]]" – warm spring-like weather in early winter|小春日和|koharubiyori}} are ''not'' proverbs. To be considered a proverb, a word or phrase must express a common [[truth]] or [[wisdom]]; it cannot be a mere noun.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

== Origin ==
Numerous Asian proverbs, including Japanese, appear to be derived from older [[Chinese proverbs]], although it often is impossible to be completely sure about the direction of cultural influences (and hence, the origins of a particular proverb or idiomatic phrase).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stone |first=Jon R. |url=https://archive.org/details/routledgebookofw0000ston/ |title=The Routledge Book of World Proverbs |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2006 |isbn=9780203968956 |edition=Taylor & Francis e-Library |location=270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY, 10016 |pages=xiv-xv |language=en |access-date=25 July 2024 |url-access=}}</ref>

Because traditional Japanese culture was tied to agriculture, many Japanese proverbs are derived from agricultural customs and practices. Some are from the board game [[Go (board game)|Go]] (e.g., {{nihongo||布石を打つ|fuseki o utsu}}), the [[Japanese tea ceremony|tea ceremony]] (e.g., {{nihongo||一期一会|[[Ichi-go ichi-e|ichi go ichi e]]}}), and [[Buddhism]]. Many four-character idioms are from [[Chinese philosophy]] written in [[Classical Chinese]], in particular "The [[Analects]]" by Confucius. ({{nihongo3|'a frog in a well'|井の中の蛙|I no naka no kawazu}} is Classical Chinese, from the ''[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]''.)

== Usage ==
Japanese commonly use proverbs, often citing just the first part of common phrases for brevity. For example, one might say {{nihongo3|'a frog in a well'|井の中の蛙|i no naka no kawazu}} to refer to the proverb {{nihongo3|'a frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean'|[[wikt:井の中の蛙大海を知らず|井の中の蛙、大海を知らず]]|i no naka no kawazu, taikai o shirazu}}. Whereas proverbs in English are typically multi-worded phrases (e.g. "kill two birds with one stone"), Japanese ''yojijukugo'' borrow from Chinese and compactly convey the concept in one compound word (e.g., {{nihongo3|'one stone two birds'|一石二鳥|isseki nichō}}).

== Examples ==
=== Sayings ===<!-- This section is linked from [[Cuteness in Japanese culture]] -->
*出る杭は打たれる。
** ''Deru kui wa utareru''
** Literally: The stake that sticks up gets hammered down.
** Meaning: If you stand out, you will be subject to criticism.
*知らぬが仏。
** ''Shiranu ga hotoke''
** Literally: Not knowing is Buddha.
** Meaning: Ignorance is bliss. / What you don't know can't hurt you.
*見ぬが花。
** ''Minu ga hana''
** Literally: Not seeing is a flower.
** Meaning: Reality can't compete with imagination.
*花は桜木人は武士
** ''Hana wa sakuragi, hito wa bushi''
** Literally: [[Hana wa sakuragi, hito wa bushi|Of flowers, the cherry blossom; of men, the warrior]].
** Meaning: As the cherry blossom is considered foremost among flowers, so the warrior is foremost among men.

* 井の中の蛙大海を知らず
** ''I no naka no kawazu taikai wo shirazu''
** Literally: The frog in the well knows nothing of the ocean.
** Meaning: People who experience very little have a narrow world view. / He that stays in the valley shall never get over the hill.

* かわいい子には旅をさせよ
** ''Kawaii ko ni wa tabi wo saseyo''
** Literally: Let your darling child travel.
** Meaning: If you don't discipline your child, they will not learn obedience. / [[Spare the rod (disambiguation)|Spare the rod and spoil the child]].

*案ずるより産むが易しい。
** ''Anzuru yori umu ga yasashii''
**Literally:  Giving birth to a baby is easier than worrying about it.
**Meaning: Fear is greater than the danger. / An attempt is sometimes easier than expected.

* 船頭多くして船山に登る
** ''Sendou ooku shite fune yama ni noboru''
** Literally: Too many captains will steer the ship up a mountain.
** Meaning: Something may not be successful if too many people work on it at the same time. / [[wiktionary:too_many_cooks_spoil_the_broth|Too many cooks spoil the broth]].

* 蛙の子は蛙
** ''Kaeru no ko wa kaeru''
** Literally: The child of a frog is frog.
** Meaning: A child grows up similar to their parents. / Like father, like son. / The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

* 馬鹿は風邪を引かない
** ''[[Baka wa kaze o hikanai]]''
** Literally: Idiots don't catch colds.
** Meaning: Carefree people are less likely to notice they are sick or to worry about being sick.

=== Idiomatic phrases ===
*[[wikt:猫に小判|猫に小判]]
** ''Neko ni koban''
** Literally: Gold coins to a cat.
** Meaning: Casting [[wikt:cast pearls before swine|pearls before swine]] / Giving something of value to a recipient that does not value it.
*七転び八起き
** ''Nanakorobi yaoki''
** Literally: Fall seven times and stand up eight
** Meaning: When life knocks you down, stand back up; What matters is not the bad that happened, but what one does after.
*猿も木から落ちる
** ''Saru mo ki kara ochiru''
** Literally: Even [[monkey]]s fall from [[tree]]s
** Meaning: Anyone can make a mistake.
*花より団子
** ''Hana yori dango''
** Literally: [[Dango|Dumplings]] rather than flowers
** Meaning: To prefer substance over form, as in to prefer to be given functional, useful items (such as dumplings) instead of merely decorative items (such as flowers).
*馬の耳に念仏
** ''Uma no mimi ni nenbutsu''
** Literally: Chanting nenbutsu to a horse.
** Meaning: Attempting to make an argument to a party that will not listen. / Preaching to the deaf.

* 水と油
** ''Mizu to abura''
** Literally: Water and oil.
** Meaning: Totally incompatible. / [Go together like] oil and water.

=== Four-character idioms ===
{{Main|Yojijukugo}}
*十人十色
** ''jūnin toiro''
** Literally: ten persons, ten colors
** Meaning: To each his own. / Different strokes for different folks.
*因果応報
** ''inga ōhō''
** Literally: Cause bring result / bad causes bring bad results 
** Meaning: what goes around comes around 
** Note: this is a Buddhist sentiment that emphasizes the idea of [[karmic retribution]].
*弱肉強食
** ''jaku niku kyō shoku''
** Literally: The weak are meat; the strong eat.
** Meaning: [[Survival of the fittest]].

== See also ==
*[[Chinese proverbs]]
*[[Japanese culture]]
*[[Japanese language]]
*[[Korean proverbs]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* De Lange, William. (2013). ''A Dictionary of Japanese Proverbs''. TOYO Press.  {{ISBN| 978-1-891640-51-3}}

== External links ==
{{wiktionary|Category:Japanese proverbs}}
{{wikiquote}}
*[https://kotowaza-dictionary.jp/ 故事ことわざ辞典] (in Japanese)
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110429040248/http://www.worldofquotes.com/proverb/Japanese/1/index.html Japanese Proverbs]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140712134616/http://thejapanesepage.com/kotowaza.htm Japanese Language Kotowaza – proverbs & sayings]
*[http://www.ok312.com/ Words of Wisdom OK312 「英⇔日」対照・名言ことわざ辞典]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20000117055612/http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/5623/kotowjis.html  Nihon no Kotowaza]
*[http://www4.airnet.ne.jp/swata/swkoto_a.html ことわざ辞典] (in Japanese)
*[http://www.languagerealm.com/japanese/japaneseproverbs.php Japanese Kotowaza] (in Japanese and English) 
*[http://www.kotowaza.org Japanese / English / Dutch v.v. Proverb dictionary]
*[http://www.goldenproverbs.com/tp_japanese.html Golden Proverbs] A nice collection of Japanese proverbs.

{{Asia topic |Proverbs of}}

[[Category:Japanese proverbs| ]]
[[Category:Proverbs by language]]

[[ja:日本のことわざ]]