高嶺の花 (Takane no hana)

Meaning: Someone or something beautiful but utterly out of reach.

Language: Japanese

Literally: A flower on a high peak

Category: Nature

Origin: A classical Japanese image: the alpine bloom admired from the valley floor — visible to everyone, pickable by no one.

More idioms — Nature

• После дождичка в четверг (Posle dozhdichka v chetverg) — Never — or certainly no time soon.
• Τα έκανε θάλασσα — He made a complete mess of it.
• Je to za vodou — To be out of trouble; home free.
• Spadnout z višně — To be naive and clueless about how things really work.
• Lóg az eső lába — It looks like it's about to rain.
• Як сніг на голову (Yak snih na holovu) — Completely out of the blue; totally unexpected.

More Japanese idioms

• 猫舌 (Nekojita) — Unable to handle hot food or drinks.
• 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.

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