ProverbWisdomJapanese origin

神は細部に宿る (Kami wa saibu ni yadoru)

Meaning: Excellence comes from attention to the smallest details.

Literally: God resides in the details

Example: “最後の仕上げを丁寧にしよう。神は細部に宿るからね。” — Let's take care over the final touches: God is in the details.

Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, and German

  • English: The devil is in the details
  • French: Le diable est dans les détails (literally: The devil is in the details)
  • Spanish: El diablo está en los detalles (literally: The devil is in the details)
  • German: Der Teufel steckt im Detail (literally: The devil lurks in the detail)

Origin: A Western saying that came into Japanese. It is variously credited to the art historian Aby Warburg, the architect Mies van der Rohe or Flaubert, but none of these attributions has been confirmed.

Explore another collection: Idioms

Colorful expressions from dozens of languages, with their word-for-word translations.

Browse all idioms →

Keep exploring

Explore all proverbs →