Japanese Language: Kotowaza - proverbs & sayings

KOTWAZA (proverbs) & SAYINGS
IN JAPANESE

oday's focus will be on kotowaza (proverbs) and sayings. Japanese LOVE proverbs and set sayings. Knowing kotowaza will make your Japanese more natural and improve your understanding of the Japanese way of thinking. We will look at 6 sayings and break-them-down to try to understand where it came from.

CONTENTS:
1. 神出鬼没 shin shutsu ki botsu - to appear & disappear
2. 自画自賛 ji ga ji san - self-praise
3. 猿も木から落ちる。saru mo ki kara ochiru. - Even monkeys fall from a tree
4. 一石二鳥 isseki ni chou - to kill 2 birds with 1 stone
5. 十人十色 juu nin to iro - different strokes for different folks
6. 壁に耳あり、障子に目あり kabe ni mimi ari shouji ni me ari - the walls have ears, the paper doors have eyes

MOOD SETTING: imagine a lonesome samurai reciting Shakespeare with a katana in one hand and a book of poetry in the other.

LET'S BEGIN with a difficult, but fun ninja phrase:

#1: 神出鬼没 shin shutsu ki botsu

MEANING: "To appear and disappear like a phantom (unexpected)"

BREAK IT DOWN:

神 shin
(Other readings: KATI, JIN)
"God, deity, of the Supernatural..."
(OTHER: 神様 kami sama - God, 神学 shin gaku - theology

出 shutsu
(Other readings: SHUTSU, DEru, DAsu)
"to come out, to bring out, to go out, out"
(OTHER: 出口 de guchi - exit (door); 出発 shuppatsu - to depart, leave)

NOTE: Usually a 4 kanji combo is 2 2 kanji combos stuck together. However,
in this case SHIN SHUTSU by itself isn't a word. But taking the 2 kanjis
individually we understand the meaning to be something along the lines of
the supernatural coming out.

鬼 ki
(Other readings: ONI)
"Oni, orge, or some evil creature from Japanese folk lore"
(OTHER: 鬼ごっこ oni gokko - tag game, "You are the Oni!")

没 botsu
"rejection, to sink, to die"

YOU ARE DOING WELL! NEXT...

#2: 自画自賛 ji ga ji san

MEANING: "Every potter praises his own pot (To praise one's own work)"

BREAK IT DOWN:

自 ji
(Other readings: SHI, MIZUKAra)
"oneself, self"
(OTHER: 自分 ji bun - oneself; 自由 ji yuu - freedom, free)

画 ga
(Other readings: KAKU)
"a picture"
(OTHER: 映画 ei ga - movie; 漫画 man ga - comics)

賛 san
"to praise, agree"
(OTHER: 賛美 san bi - praise, adoration)

AND NOW:

#3: 猿も木から落ちる。saru mo ki kara ochiru.

MEANING: "Even monkeys fall from trees. (Even experts mess up once in a while.)"

BREAK IT DOWN:

猿 saru
(Other readings: en)
"monkey"

も mo = "also, too"

木 ki
(Other readings: MOKU, BOKU)
"tree"
(OTHER: MOKU YOU BI - Thursday)

から kara = "from"

落ちる ochiru
"to fall, drop"

JUST A LITTLE MORE:

#4: 一石二鳥 isseki ni chou

MEANING: "to kill two birds with one stone" lit: "one stone; two birds"

BREAK IT DOWN:

一石 isseki
(This is ICHI with SEKI = ISSEKI (the ICHI is reduced, making a short skip between I and SEKI))
"ichi - one; seki - stone, rock"

二 ni
"two"

鳥 chou
"bird"
(OTHER READINGS: tori)

NOTE: this is the same as the English, to kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

#5: 十人十色 juu nin to iro

MEANING: "different strokes for different folks" lit: "10 people; 10 colors"

BREAK IT DOWN:

十 juu
"ten"
(OTHER READINGS: to)

人 nin
"people, person"
(OTHER READINGS: hito, jin)

色 iro
"color"
(OTHER READINGS: shoku)

#6: 壁に耳あり、障子に目あり kabe ni mimi ari shouji ni me ari

MEANING: "the walls have ears, the door have eyes"

BREAK IT DOWN:

壁 kabe
"wall"

耳 mimi
"ear, ears"

障子 shouji
"Japanese paper door"

NOTES:
ni (に) is needed to show position (at the wall; on the door...)
ari (あり) is a shortened version of arimasu (to exist, to be)

RECAP:

1. 神出鬼没 shin shutsu ki botsu - to appear & disappear
2. 自画自賛 ji ga ji san - self-praise
3. 猿も木から落ちる。saru mo ki kara ochiru. - Even monkeys fall from a tree
4. 一石二鳥 isseki ni chou - to kill 2 birds with 1 stone
5. 十人十色 juu nin to iro - different strokes for different folks
6. 壁に耳あり、障子に目あり kabe ni mimi ari shouji ni me ari - the walls have ears, the doors have eyes

This page is from a recent How to Wow! Henna Nihongo Email List - Click here to learn more

CLICK HERE TO GO BACK