World of Proverbs: Japanese

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Japanese Proverbs (101-200)

Don't bear a grudge and don't record it.

In a fight no broad hat can be put on.

Good things are cheap.

Stolen things eaten are delicious.

Better than hearsay is actual observation.

❖

Better be a chicken's head than an ox's rump.

A heart of sympathy is the beginning of benevolence.

Even a welcome guest becomes a parasite on the third day.

The wise hawk conceals his talons.

A tile, even though it be polished,
does not become a jewel.

❖

Unless you enter the tiger's den you cannot take the cubs.

A cool head and warm feet are the cause of long life.

If the hands are empty the mouth is empty.

The avaricious hawk loses its talons.

Gentleness skillfully subdues wrath.

❖

Under a brave general there are no cowardly soldiers.

A fine horse runs on by observing the shadows of the whip.

If the heart is right the deeds will be right.

Heaven has no mouth but causes man to speak.

A four-horse team cannot overtake the tongue.

❖

Test a horse by riding him and
a person by accompanying him.

Better a good heart than a fair face.

Easily changed is a woman's heart.

There are no better treasures than children.

Treasures laid up in the mind do not decay.

❖

An old horse does not forget his path.

The flow of water and the future of human beings are uncertain.

Men's hearts are as different as their faces.

The hunter pursuing the deer sees not the mountain.

An ant hole may collapse an embankment.

❖

When you're hungry nothing is tasteless.

When in a hurry make a detour.

Jealousy is the life of love.

Even a hunter is sometimes caught in a trap.

In a wealthy man's house there is no lean dog.

❖

Inferiors have others below them.

Time flies like an arrow, once gone it does not return.

Fortune and misfortune are like the twisted strands of a rope.

Fallen flowers do not return to branches
a shattered mirror does not again reflect.

The tone of the bird's song is the same everywhere.

❖

It is better to be ignorant than to be mistaken.

What is joined may be separated.

Though you see the back of another you cannot see your own.

Illness starts with the mouth.

For good judgement ask old persons.

❖

A few are no match for the many.

When you are busy you have no illness.

A jewel unless polished will not sparkle.

The summer insect knows not ice.

Even a worthless fellow can obtain the consent of a fool.

❖

Large fish do not live in a small pond.

Even little imps when numerous are strong.

Time does wait for man.

Tomorrow is tomorrow, today is today.

He who knows not when he has enough is poor.

❖

Kindness is not just for the sake of others.

No one has ever suffered loss because of laughter.

Even though late it is better to do it than not to do it.

With the fall of one leaf we know that autumn has come to the world.

Even though late it is better to do it than not to do it.

❖

There are no national frontiers to learning.

The person who goes ahead controls others.

An easily heated thing is easily cooled.

A crying child thrives.

There is no short cut to learning.

❖

He who knows when he has enough is fortunate.

Toil cannot be overtaken by poverty.

Old times are old times, the present is present.

On the road to the other world no one is king.

A country may go to ruin but its mountains and streams remain.

❖

Life is for one generation a good name is forever.

If there is a lid that does not fit there is a lid that does.

Love lives in palaces as well as in thatched cottages.

Give food to the hawk you do not love.

When passionately in love, one becomes stupid.

❖

Love is beyond reflection.

A long life has many shames.

Life in this world consists in mutual helpfulness.

The extreme form of psssionate love is secret love.

If you would bend the tree do it while it is young.

❖

Tall trees, much wind.

It is one life whether we spend it in laughing or weeping.

In this long transitory world life is short.

Don't look above you, rather look below you.

Thistle blossoms last but a moment.

❖

Wealthy persons and spittoons become filthier with accumulation.

A liar is the beginning of a thief.

Good liquor needs no signboard.

In love there are no distinctions between high and low.

Life is light when compared to honor.

❖

A great man does not seize small things.

A man with a changeable spirit is not successful.

Good luck invites many mishaps.

The tippler does not know the poison, the teetotaler the medicine.

The tippler discloses his true character.

❖

For good luck sleep and wait.

Look at the flowers and then break off a branch.

Yesterday's lovely flower is but a dream today.

Good luck comes in at a smiling gate.

To the partial eyes of a lover,
pockmarks seem like dimples.

❖❖❖

Japanese Proverbs (001-100)
Japanese Proverbs (101-200)
Japanese Proverbs (201-300)
Japanese Proverbs (301-400)
Japanese Proverbs (401-500)
Japanese Proverbs (501-536)

Japanese Proverbs (301-400)

❖

No place is as desirable as home.

Where there is pleasure there is pain.

Two great men cannot stand side by side.

When the entrance is carefully shut a dog does not come in.

Unless there is wastefulness there is no deficiency.

❖

Running water does not get stale.

Easily promised, quickly forgotten.

When the purse is light there is no vitality.

Precaution must be taken in advance.

Falling raindrops will wear through a stone.

❖

Take a profit from your loss.

Avoid and pass by a fool and a madman.

Riches in the shape of children make one's shank thin.

A cornered rat will bite a cat.

Fashion is ruin to some people.

❖

Better than strangers are relatives.

Early rising has seven advantages.

Walls have ears, wine bottles have mouths.

To the heavy drinker on awakening,
water tastes like nectar.

Fast ripe, fast rotten.

❖

Riches and honors unjustly gained are like floating clouds.

Blood-shared relationships are the best.

When the time comes even a rat becomes a tiger.

Repentance never comes beforehand.

He who sees righteousness and does not do it is not brave.

❖

The face is the mirror of the heart.

What's in fashion will be out of fashion.

A river that has no bridge cannot be crossed.

A firm resolve pierces even a rock.

The road that is preferred leads to destruction.

❖

Even a robber fastens his door.

Wealth and fame, strangers gather around.
Poverty and lowliness, even relatives depart.

Distant water will not extinguish the neighborhood fire.

A great sage is often taken for a great fool.

Unsown seeds will not sprout.

❖

Don't say there's a tomorrow.

Too many sailors drive the boat up the mountain.

If the end is good everything is good.

With such a parent there is such a child.

In strategy secrecy is esteemed.

❖

One seeing is better than one hundred hearings.

Pleasure seekers have no leisure.

Even a rotten rope can be put to use.

Although shrimps may dance around they do not leave the river.

Silence surpasses speech.

❖

As water lends itself to the shape of the vessel,
a man is shaped by his friends - good or bad.

A wife is a household treasure.

Hate the sin but do not hate the person.

The shrewdness of the woman fails to sell the ox.

True patience consists in bearing what is unbearable.

❖

Emeralds as well as glass will shine when light is shed on them.

Snakes follow the way of serpents.

Don't drive a snake from a bamboo thicket.

Early sleeping and early rising are the essentials for success.

Having learned his lesson with hot soup,
he blows cold fish salad.

❖

The very thing one likes, one does well.

He who has been bitten by a snake fears a decayed rope.

A statement let loose cannot be caught by four horses.

Study well, play well.

Though the whip is long it does not reach the belly of the horse.

❖

A bad wife is a poor harvest for sixty years.

Emeralds are easily broken.

Better a stitch now than ten stitches later.

By seeing one spot you know the entire leopard.

When the spirit is light the foot also is light.

❖

Even the stone upon which you stumble is a part of fate.

The superior prevails, the inferior breaks.

Superiors have others above them.

A thief makes a good watchman for thieves.

An exalted temple is known by its gate.

❖

A quick temper does not bring success.

A quick temper results in loss.

The wind that comes in through a crack is cold.

Brides and mothers-in-law are like dogs and monkeys.

Silk brocade does not make a good mop.

❖

The castle is not overthrown by precaution.

A wife and floor matting are better when new.

A centipede though dead will not fall.

Business is like the froth from an ox's mouth.

Train the bride when she first comes.

❖

Oxen go with oxen, horses with horses.

Pain is the seed of pleasure.

Carelessness is a great enemy.

You can't eat the rice cake in a picture.

The cat that does not meow catches rats.

❖

Take a good wife even if you have to sell your pots and kettles.

Wine is lunatic water.

Choose a bride and piece goods in the daytime.

The cherry blossom among flowers, the warrior among men.

Cheerfulness is the very flower of health.

❖

The good calligrapher is not choosy about his writing brush.

The bow will hit the target, depending on the bowman.

The overturning of the preceding cart
is a warning to the cart following.

It is better to buy than to receive.

Books are preserved minds.

❖

The boaster and the proud person are fools.

When old, one finds it difficult to follow the world.

Without ordinary men, there would be no great men.

Though she may be a beauty, it is but one layer of skin.

Wine begins with formalities and ends in a riot.

❖

Japanese Proverbs (001-100)

Japanese Proverbs (101-200)

Japanese Proverbs (201-300)

Japanese Proverbs (301-400)

Japanese Proverbs (401-500)

Japanese Proverbs (501-536)

Japanese Proverbs (401-500)

❖

There is no sword that can oppose kindness.

Wine is the source of all medicines.

Better be the cock's bill than an ox's tail.

Boasting begins where wisdom stops.

Wise birds live in carefully chosen trees.

❖

A caged bird longs for the clouds.

If there's a beginning there's an end.

The beginning is most important.

A crooked branch has a crooked shadow.

An accomplishment sticks to a person.

❖

The tightly strung bow will relax in time.

Clams cannot be taken in a field.

Don't give an order after listening only to one side.

Money commands people and all things in the world.

Wine is a jewel-broom to sweep away sorrow.

❖

Work depends on tools.

Money matters make strangers.

If the bird had not sung, it wouldn't have been shot.

The belly eight-tenths full needs no physician.

Sweet words please fools.

❖

Numerous words show scanty wares.

Suitable ability in the suitable place.

In old age one again becomes a child.

The ocean is not choosy about a small stream.

There is no person without a fault.

❖

Affinity is a mysterious thing, but it is spicy!

Where there is no antagonist you cannot quarrel.

The cherry tree is known among others by its flowers.

Wisdom and virtue are like the two wheels of a cart.

Even the wishes of an ant reach heaven.

❖

The mouth is the gate of misfortune and evil.

A concentrated mind will pierce a rock.

When you have money, think of the time when you had none.

Though small, a needle is not to be swallowed.

Look at the mother rather than her daughter.

❖

Bring up your beloved child with a stick.

Even downtrodden weeds will bear flowers.

We do not stumble over mountains, we stumble over anthills.

If the mouth is fastened shut, no quarrel arises.

Monkeys laugh at the buttocks of other monkeys.

❖

In buying cheap articles money is lost.

Even between parents and children
money matters make strangers.

Wine reveals a person's true heart.

Not to speak is the flower of wisdom.

Don't sell a mirror to blind a person.

❖

Money is an enemy.

Metal is tested by fire, man by wine.

Willows are never broken by snow.

Merchants regard each other as foes.

Don't hesitate to acknowledge a mistake and correct it.

❖

In a village do as the village does.

Money grows on the tree of patience.

Life is more fragile than the morning dew.

Old men for consultation, young men for quarrels.

When the oil is exhausted, the flame goes out.

❖

Though you drink wine, do not be drunk by wine.

You don't get drunk on wine which you do not drink.

Man is a pine tree, woman a wisteria vine.

Even without parents a child will grow up.

Poor men's treasures are their children.

❖

Better than a thousand days of diligent study
is one day with a great teacher.

The train waits for no one.

Years and months are like a flowing stream.

Even a cup of tea will stay hunger for a time.

Old wounds easily become painful.

❖

Travel is a gloomy and trying experience.

Youth easily grows old yet becomes learned with difficulty.

The tongue is mightier than the sword.

A woman's wisdom is monkey wisdom.

An intense zeal prevails upon heaven.

❖

If you give a child your back it will ask to be carried in your arms.

What is cheap may also be bad.

A woman's wisdom is at the end of her nose.

Trash accumulates in stagnant water.

Silent worms dig holes in the walls.

❖

A crooked top on a crooked kettle.

The world is the world for the world.

Youth and wine are like a whip to a galloping horse.

Women are devilish things.

Women are fragile things.

❖

Among beautiful women there are many fools.

Numerous words show scanty wares.

Character does not change.

Too much concentration of thought does not produce a plan.

Women should associate with women.

❖

Wives and pots and kettles are better when old.

Wives and shoes are better when old.

A mirror and chastity are two things a woman must have.

Wine is the best of all medicines and the worst of all poisons.

Though a beautiful woman does not any anything, she cannot be hidden.

❖

Though you speak of a beautiful woman, it is only one layer of skin.

Sweet words please fools.

Fortune favors the person who has been jilted.

Talented persons are short lived.

One cannot see the evil deeds of one's own children.

❖

A fruit-bearing tree is known by its flowers.

Talented persons are short lived.

Wholeheartedness will pierce a rock.

Though the wind blows, the mountain does not move.

A loyal subject does not serve two lords.

❖❖❖

Japanese Proverbs (001-100)
Japanese Proverbs (101-200)
Japanese Proverbs (201-300)
Japanese Proverbs (301-400)
Japanese Proverbs (401-500)
Japanese Proverbs (501-536)

Japanese Proverbs (501-536)

❖

Thought is silence.

Three persons together, bitter world.

Even if you become the enemy of a good man,
don't become the friend of a bad man.

One cannot run on two crotches.

Unless you are crooked you can't get along in the world.

❖

Although the owl has large eyes, he can't see as well as a mouse.

Without oars you cannot cross in a boat.

Confused crabs miss their holes.

Credit is invisible fortune.

The crab digs a hole according to its shell.

❖

As for man wisdom, as for woman affection.

If a water wheel exerts itself, it has no time to get frozen.

Easily had opportunities are easily lost.

Don't make complaints against a gift.

One dog barks an inanity, ten thousand dogs assert its truth.

❖

Children do not understand the hearts of parents.

In love, company is a nuisance.

Even a packhorse driver looks well in fine clothes.

When advanced in age we become children again.

Children learn from their parents.

❖

Coffin carriers desire the year of the plaque.

A flying bird will sometimes fall.

Children do not have as much affection
for parents as parents have for them.

Advertising is the mother of commerce.

Against reason, no sword will prevail.

❖

There is no hero in the eyes of his servant.

Tadpoles become frogs.

Suspicion generates dark devils.

If you would take, first give.

Even a dog will not eat a quarrel between husband and wife.

❖

It’s the tortoise that discounts the value of a pair of fast legs.

The protruding nail will be pounded down.

The laden almond tree by the wayside is sure to be bitter.

A barking dog is weak.

The starving dog fears not the stick.

❖

The dogs that wags its tail cannot be beaten.

❖❖❖

Japanese Proverbs (001-100)
Japanese Proverbs (101-200)
Japanese Proverbs (201-300)
Japanese Proverbs (301-400)
Japanese Proverbs (401-500)
Japanese Proverbs (501-536)

In the struggle between the stone and water,
in time, the water wins.
~ Japanese Proverb [17331]

Photo uploaded by Meckimac
[GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0],
via Wikimedia Commons

The concept of water being more powerful than stone is a Taoist concept first attributed to Lao Tzu 5th–4th century BCE, China. As with many Taoist concepts, it was quickly adapted by Buddhist teachers. With the spread of Buddhism, especially Zen, the concept migrated into Japan and throughout the world.

The concept is often illustrated with the idea of a river, over time, cutting through mountains of rock and stone.

To see more Illustrated Proverbs click here.

16, POTD, Proverb of the Day,

Bad and good are intertwined like rope.
~ Japanese Proverb [15783]

16q, QOTD,

Deceive the rich and powerful if you will, but don't insult them.
~ Japanese Proverb [16102]

16q, QOTD,

Fall down 7 times, get up 8.
- Japanese proverb

MM006, MondayMotivation

The go-between wears out a thousand sandals.
~ Japanese Proverb [18515]

16q, QOTD,

One kind word can warm three winter months.
~ Japanese Proverb [18053]

Photo by Andreas Tille (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

To see more Illustrated Proverbs click here.