Japanese Idioms
A curated set of 30 idioms in Japanese — literal translations, real meanings, and where each one comes from.
- 猫の手も借りたい — I'm so busy I'll take help from anyone. Literally: I want to borrow even a cat's paw.
- 猿も木から落ちる — Even experts make mistakes. Literally: Even monkeys fall from trees.
- 花より団子 — Substance over style; practicality over beauty. Literally: Dumplings over flowers.
- 猫をかぶる — To hide one's true nature; to act innocent. Literally: To wear a cat on your head.
- 馬の耳に念仏 — Wasted advice on someone who won't listen. Literally: A Buddhist prayer in a horse's ear.
- 雀の涙 — A pitifully small amount. Literally: Sparrow's tears.
- 対牛弾琴 — Wasting effort on an unappreciative audience. Literally: Playing a lute to a cow.
- 口が滑る — To accidentally let something slip. Literally: The mouth slips.
- 蛇足 — Something completely unnecessary; a superfluous addition. Literally: Snake legs.
- 猫に小判 — Giving something valuable to someone who can't appreciate it. Literally: A gold coin to a cat.
- 杞憂 — Unnecessary worry about things that won't happen; baseless anxiety. Literally: Worry of Qi - fear that the sky might fall.
- 傍若無人 — Behaving without regard for others' feelings or presence around you. Literally: Act as if no people beside.
- 一期一会 — Treasure each encounter as unique and irreplaceable in life. Literally: One time one meeting.
- 四面楚歌 — Being surrounded by enemies with no hope of escape or support. Literally: Four sides all singing Chu songs.
- 鯖を読む — To fudge the numbers in your favor, especially your age. Literally: To read the mackerel.
- 油を売る — To slack off or dawdle when you should be working. Literally: To sell oil.
- 高嶺の花 — Someone or something beautiful but utterly out of reach. Literally: A flower on a high peak.
- 猫舌 — Unable to handle hot food or drinks. Literally: Cat tongue.
- 猫の額 — A very small space, especially of land. Literally: A cat's forehead.
- 腹が黒い — Scheming and malicious behind a friendly face. Literally: The belly is black.
- お茶を濁す — To dodge a question with a vague, evasive answer. Literally: To muddy the tea.
- 朝飯前 — A task so easy it can be done before eating. Literally: Before breakfast.
- 二階から目薬 — A roundabout effort that has no real effect. Literally: Eye drops from the second floor.
- 喉から手が出る — To want something so badly you can hardly bear it. Literally: A hand comes out of the throat.
- 棚から牡丹餅 — An unexpected stroke of good luck. Literally: A sweet rice cake from the shelf.
- 七転び八起き — To keep getting up no matter how often you fall. Literally: Fall seven times, rise eight.
- 月とすっぽん — Two things alike at a glance but worlds apart. Literally: The moon and a snapping turtle.
- 石橋を叩いて渡る — To be extremely, even excessively, cautious. Literally: To tap a stone bridge before crossing.
- 釘を刺す — To remind someone firmly so they can't back out. Literally: To drive in a nail.
- 顔から火が出る — To burn with embarrassment. Literally: Fire comes out of the face.
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