IdiomNature
Japanese
Japanese高嶺の花 (Takane no hana)
Meaning: Someone or something beautiful but utterly out of reach.
Literally: A flower on a high peak
Example: “あのモデルは僕には高嶺の花だ。” — That model is out of my league.
English equivalent: Out of one's league
Equivalents in other languages
Korean: 그림의 떡 (Geurimui tteok) Literally: A rice cake in a painting
English: pie in the sky- English: out of one's league
Origin: A flower growing on a high peak can be admired from below but not picked. Takane no hana is someone or something too far above one to reach, often a person one admires from afar. No particular story lies behind it.
More Japanese idioms
- 猫の額 (Neko no hitai) A very small space, especially of land.
- 腹が黒い (hara ga kuroi) Scheming and malicious behind a friendly face.
- お茶を濁す (ocha o nigosu) To dodge a question with a vague, evasive answer.
- 朝飯前 (Asameshi mae) A task so easy it can be done before eating.
- 二階から目薬 (Nikai kara megusuri) A roundabout effort that has no real effect.
- 喉から手が出る (Nodo kara te ga deru) To want something so badly you can hardly bear it.
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.
Keep exploring