IdiomBody & Senses
Japanese
Japanese顔から火が出る (kao kara hi ga deru)
Meaning: To burn with embarrassment.
Literally: Fire comes out of the face
Example: “人前で転んで、顔から火が出る思いだった。” — I fell over in front of everyone and blushed to the roots of my hair.
English equivalent: To blush to the roots of one's hair
Equivalents in other languages
English: blush to the roots of one's hair
Origin: A face burning with embarrassment is pictured as actually giving off fire. The phrase means being terribly ashamed and has no particular story behind it.
More Japanese idioms
- 一石二鳥 (Isseki nichō) Getting two results from a single action.
- 目くそ鼻くそを笑う (Mekuso hanakuso o warau) Mocking someone else's faults without noticing you have the same ones.
- 労多くして功少なし (Rō ōkushite kō sukunashi) A lot of effort for very little result.
- 猫の手も借りたい (Neko no te mo karitai) I'm so busy I'll take help from anyone.
- 花より団子 (Hana yori dango) Substance over style; practicality over beauty.
- 猫をかぶる (Neko wo kaburu) To hide one's true nature; to act innocent.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- 隣の客はよく柿食う客だ (Tonari no kyaku wa yoku kaki kuu kyaku da) A tricky spiral on ka/ki/ku that accelerates as you try to keep the syllables distinct.
- なまむぎ なまごめ なまたまご (Nama mugi, nama gome, nama tamago) A nimble warm-up for the Japanese 'na / ma / ge' syllables.
- 東京特許許可局 (Tōkyō tokkyo kyokakyoku) A machine-gun of 'kyo' / 'kyoku' sounds.
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