ことわざ・四字熟語 of the Week

Japanese
#59

ことわざ of the week :memo:

This week’s ことわざ is :

可愛い子には旅をさせよ
かわいいこにはたびをさせよ

Translation:
You should make your child go on a trip.

Meaning:
If you love your child, you must make them experience the hardships of life.

Context:

旅 may seem like a positive thing since nowadays, it is something people do for fun. However, before airplanes, cars, and trains existed, traveling was a huge event, and it was something that took a lot of effort since the only thing you could rely on was yourself.

When is it used?
This ことわざ is used in situations where people want to emphasize that they want their kids to experience real life and experience some sort of hardship instead of feeding them with a silver spoon, so that they grow up stronger.

Example:

息子を一人で島根にいる親戚の家に行かせるのは心配だったが、「可愛い子には旅をさせよ」ということわざを信じて、息子を送り出した。

I was worried about sending my son alone to stay with relatives in Shimane, but trusting the proverb “You should make your child go on a trip”, I saw him off.

8 Likes
#60

I’m pleased to be able to add this one to the deck - added!
I’ll just update the deck with any new cards that I can from now on :slight_smile:

3 Likes
#61

四字熟語 of the week :memo:

自由自在
じゆうじざい

Meaning:

To be able to control something as one pleases.

Context:

This is a very common 四字熟語 that you will hear in many kinds of situations. This is another 四字熟語 that has Buddhist origin. Although 自由 is usually translated as freedom, the nuance this carries here is closer to liberty, since the original meaning of 自由 in Buddhism was used to describe a state where a person could rely on oneself without being swayed by the opinions of the people around them.

When is it used?

This is used in so many different situations to describe that some one is controlling something as they pleased. This could range from a person using a tool usefully, to a person being in control of a big group of people.

Example:

師匠は使う道具全て自由自在に使いこなすから、見ていてきもちい。

The master wields every tool with such mastery that it’s a pleasure to watch.

10 Likes
#62

ことわざ of the week :memo:

This week’s ことわざ is :

餓鬼の断食
がきのだんじき

Translation:
A hungry spirit fasting.

Meaning:
A person who brags about doing something normal, to make them seem like they are doing something great.

Context:

This is another ことわざ with a Buddhist background. 餓鬼（がき）are hungry spirits born in the hungry ghost realm of Buddhism. In Buddhism, it is said that spirits born in this realm are constantly hungry because they don’t have actual food to eat, or because their food bursts into flames before they are able to put it in their mouths.

A person bragging about doing something that is considered as a normal behavior, is like a hungry spirit in the hungry spirit realm bragging that they are on a fast.

When is it used?
This is used to describe people that try to make themselves look good by bragging about doing something that is considered normal by societal standards.

Example:

あいつ交番に拾った携帯を届けたとか自慢してるけど、餓鬼に断食だな。

He is bragging about bringing a cellphone he found to the police, but that’s what you are supposed to do.

10 Likes
#63

四字熟語 of the week :memo:

鬼面仏心
きめんぶっしん

Meaning:

Scary looking, but has the heart of a saint.

Context:

It is said that 鬼面仏心 is a concept mentioned in the Buddhist scripture. This is used to describe a person who looks as terrifying as a demon, but has a heart of Buddha. It is also said that this 四字熟語 was used as a base for another 四字熟語, 鬼手仏心. This one means, ‘hand of a demon, heart of Buddha’, and it is a 四字熟語 that is used to describe surgeons, since their hands are used to do cut people open, but the reason they do it is to save lives.

When is it used?

This one is quite straight forward and it is used to simply state that a person looks scary/bad, but they are actually nice and will do anything to put others before them.

Example:

昨日の夜一人で歩いてたら、後ろからめっちゃ危なそうな人に声をかけられて、「ヤベ、終わったわ」って思ったら、俺が落とした財布を渡しに来てくれただけだった。結局、鬼面仏心でただの優しい人だった。

Last night, I was walking alone, and someone who looked really sketchy called out to me from behind. I thought, “Shoot, I’m done for,” but it turned out they were just bringing back the wallet I’d dropped. Turns out they were just a kind person with a heart of gold.

11 Likes
#64

ことわざ of the week :memo:

This week’s ことわざ is :

兎の毛で突く
うのけでつく

Translation:
To poke with a rabbit’s fur

Meaning:
For something to be extremely small or insignificant.

Context:

Rabbits have very soft fur, and poking someone with one strand of rabbit fur would not do anything to the person being poked.

It is most commonly seen in the form of 兎の毛で突いたほど.

When is it used?
This is used when someone wants to express that there is a very small amount of something, or when someone wants to emphasize that an action is so insignificant that it would not affect anything.

Example:

兎の毛で突いたほどの傷でスマホの画面を交換するのはお金の無駄だよ。

It’s such a waste of money to replace your smartphone screen over such a tiny scratch.

8 Likes
#65

I’m especially sad not to find this one in Bunpro’s system, because I wanted to add it to the deck for this thread and to my rabbit deck too :joy: :rabbit2:

4 Likes
#66

おはようございます、Fugaさん!

As always, thank you so much for these ことわざ. 勉強になりました！

This particular one has reminded me of a French one, ‘tuer un âne à coups de figues molles’, to kill a donkey with soft figs. This is used to say that something may take forever and, thus, its achievement is quite hard or even impossible.

良い一日を

4 Likes
#67

Is it read うさぎのけ or うのけ in this case?

4 Likes
#68

You are correct! Thank you for pointing this out! I have just made an edit!

3 Likes
#69

四字熟語 of the week :memo:

電光石火
でんこうせっか

Meaning:

For something to be as fast as lightning. For time to pass by really quickly.

Context:

電光 here refers to lightning, and 石火 refers to the sparks that appear when flints are struck with steel.

When is it used?

This is used to emphasize that something happened in an instant and to describe fast movement.

Example:

妻が一日早く帰ってくることになったから、電光石火の速さで家事を済ませた。

My wife was coming home a day early, so I finished the housework at lightning speed.

12 Likes
#70

ことわざ of the week :memo:

This week’s ことわざ is :

石の上にも三年
いしのうえにもさんねん

Translation:

To be on a rock for three years.

Meaning:

No matter how tough something may be, if you persevere and continue to do your best, you will succeed.

Context:

We are not entirely sure where this originated, but people believe that this has either originated from a Chinese or an Indian anecdote. The Chinese anecdote talks about Bodhidharma, who sat in a cave to meditate for 9 years, and in the Indian anecdote, it talks about the Venerable Balishiva, who attained enlightenment by meditating on a rock for three years. Although these anecdotes come from different places, it shares the same theme of someone reaching a goal after continuing to do something.

In the Japanese ことわざ 「三年」is used, but this is not used to refer to a specific number of years. In Japanese, ‘three’ is used as a symbolic number to represent ‘boundaries’ or ‘milestones’.

When is it used?

This is used as a word of encouragement towards someone or yourself to let them know that their hard work will eventually pay off.

Example:

石の上にも三年って言うから、もうちょっと頑張ってみよう。今諦めるのは勿体無い気がする。

Since people say that hard work pays off, I might keep doing my best. Giving up now seems like a waste.

12 Likes
#71

四字熟語 of the week :memo:

虎視眈々
こしたんたん

Meaning:

To wait patiently for an opportunity.

Context:

虎視 refers to the eyes of a tiger looking at a prey, and 眈々 refers to the intense stare they have when they are studying their prey.

This proverb is first seen in an ancient Chinese text called I Ching or Yijing. In this text this 四字熟語 was used to describe a leader keeping their eyes on people working for them to keep them from taking the leaders position. However, in modern Japanese, it is used to describe someone in a lower position waiting for the right opportunity to take over the position of someone above them.

When is it used?

Although this 四字熟語 is used to describe someone in a lower position waiting for the right opportunity to take over the position of someone above them, it can also be used with a softer nuance of someone simply waiting for the perfect opportunity.

Example:

あの子は、リーダーの座を虎視眈々と狙っている。

He is eyeing the leader’s position like a tiger.

13 Likes
#72

しかのこのこのこ虎視眈々

2 Likes
#73

Sorry for the late update, but there will be no post this week! :bowing_man:

Will get back to posting next week!

10 Likes
#74

ことわざ of the week :memo:

This week’s ことわざ is :

猫に小判
ねこにこばん

Translation:

To give a koban (a former Japanese gold coin) to a cat.

Meaning:

Giving something valuable to a person that doesn’t know its value is like throwing something down the drain.

Context:

This ことわざ was first seen in a text called the 「評判記野良立役舞台大鏡」, which was a publication, written in 1687, that critiqued kabuki actors. In this publication, there was a section that critiqued a kabuki actor called Mizushima Shirobei, who wrote Chinese-style poetry that was actually gibberish. Since the whole poetry was gibberish, the poetry was incomprehensible, and no one knew it was good or bad, it was described as 猫に小判を見せたよう.

After a while, 猫に小判を見せたよう got shortened to 猫に小判, and was used for the いろはかるた.

When is it used?

This ことわざ is used to state that giving something valuable to someone who doesn’t know the value of it is a waste.

For example, if a person who has no interest in paintings is given a high value art piece, to them it is just a piece of paper with paint on it.

Example:

A:昨日おじいちゃんから昔使ってたギターもらったけど、俺ギター弾かないからあげるよ。
B:え！？それ１００万ぐらいするギターだよ！これから値段上がるかもだから、大切に保管しときな！
A:へ〜そうなんだ。
B:まるで猫に小判だね。

A: My grandpa gave me a guitar he used to play yesterday, but I don’t play guitar so you can have it.
B: What!? That guitar is worth 1,000,000 yen! The value will probably keep rising so you should keep it safe!
A: Huh, interesting.
B: It’s just like giving a koban to a cat.

13 Likes
#75

Thank you as always, Fuga-san! もう一回勉強になりました。

This particular こよわざ is essentially identical to its equivalents in Spanish (margaritas a los cerdos) and English (pearls to the swine).

Actually, both mean exactly the same as margarita is pearl in Greek. However, in Spanish we use margarita for the flower called daisy, so the meaning got lost a long time ago, as in modern Spanish it sounds as if you were giving flowers to a pig…

3 Likes
#76

I also like the idea that the pig doesn’t know what to do with a freshly prepared margarita (beverage) in a fancy glass!

3 Likes
#77

ヤベそれ

2 Likes
#78

四字熟語 of the week :memo:

万里一空
ばんりいっくう

Meaning:

To strive toward a single goal persistently, or to keep working hard without losing sight of one’s purpose.

Context:

This 四字熟語 was first seen in a book called the 「五輪書」 ,written by Miyamoto Musashi, which classified the principles of martial arts into five categories. In this book, the phrase 「山水三千世界を万理一空に入れ、満天地ともまとめる」was used. This sentence translates to ‘The world is under one sky; the world is interconnected as one’. In this text, this 四字熟語 simply meant ‘wherever you go in the world, it is under the same sky’, however as time passed, this was used to express ‘To strive toward a single goal persistently, or to keep working hard without losing sight of one’s purpose’.

When is it used?

Although this 四字熟語 is not used as much in conversation, it is used when someone wants to express their goals and determination.

Due to this not being very common in conversation, this 四字熟語 is used as a personal motto or a slogan for students and people that are involved in sports (also used in business settings to keep everyone in the team motivated).

Example:

今回のプロジェクトも万里一空の精神で、最後まで頑張りましょう。

Let’s all work hard, without losing sight of our goal, and give this project everything we’ve got until the very end.

9 Likes