1. 自業自得
Translation: “One’s act, one’s profit”
Meaning: Similar to “you reap what you sow.” Everyone eventually faces the consequences of their actions.
2. 十人十色
Translation: “Ten men, ten colors”
Meaning: Similar to “different strokes for different folks.” People have different tastes and preferences — and that’s okay.
3. 起死回生
Translation: “Wake from death and return to life”
Meaning: To take a bad or desperate situation and turn it into a successful one.
4. 我田引水
Translation: “Pulling water to my own rice paddy”
Meaning: To do or say things for your own benefit.
5. 悪因悪果
Translation: “Evil cause, evil effect”
Meaning: Another iteration of “you reap what you sow.” This one is a tad more specific and almost suggests a karmic outcome.
6. 見ぬが花
Translation: “Not seeing is a flower.”
Meaning: In Japan, flowers can be used to represent imagination, beauty, and sometimes politeness. In this case, the idiom means, “Reality cannot compete with imagination.”
7. 弱肉強食
Translation: “The weak are meat; the strong eat.”
Meaning: This one’s pretty straightforward, meaning something like “survival of the fittest.” Bonus points because it rhymes.
8. 海千山千
Translation: “Ocean thousand, mountain thousand”
Meaning: A reference to the sly old fox, someone who’s seen everything and can therefore handle any situation, usually through cunning.
9. 酔生夢死
Translation: “Drunken life, dreamy death”
Meaning: To dream your life away or have your head in the clouds. To spend all your time daydreaming without accomplishing anything.
10. 一期一会
Translation: “One life, one encounter”
Meaning: Every encounter is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. Sometimes used as a reminder to cherish every moment because you’ll only experience it once.
11. 異体同心
Translation: “Different body, same mind”
Meaning: Refers to kindred spirits or like-minded people, somewhat similar to calling someone a “brother from another mother.”
12. 羊頭狗肉
Translation: “Sheep head, dog meat”
Meaning: False advertising, similar to the phrase “crying wine and selling vinegar,” only the Japanese idiom paints a more graphic picture.
13. 会者定離
Translation: “Meeting person always separated”
Meaning: Perhaps the most Confucius-esque idiom of the bunch, this one simply means that every meeting must end in a parting.
14. 美人薄命
Translation: “Beautiful person, thin life”
Meaning: More superstition than anything else, this one really means that a “beautiful woman is destined to die young” but is more analogous to “beauty fades.”
15. 自業自得
Translation: “Work of self, obtainment of self”
Meaning: Similar to “you get what you give,” only the Japanese version sounds way more fulfilling and relevant for self-improvement.
Other idiomatic phrases that relate to English idioms or proverbs
16. 虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず。
Translation: “If you do not enter the tiger’s cave, you will not catch its cub.”
Meaning: You can’t achieve anything without taking risks, or “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
17. 猿も木から落ちる。
Translation: “Even monkeys fall from trees.”
Meaning: A considerably more hilarious way to say, “Everybody makes mistakes.”
18. 蓼食う虫も好き好き
Translation: “There are even bugs that eat knotweed.”
Meaning: A roundabout way of saying, “There’s no accounting for taste” or “to each his own.” Japanese knotweed is one of the world’s worst invasive species.
19. 蛙の子は蛙。
Translation: “Child of a frog is a frog.”
Meaning: “Like father, like son.” It is similar to the Malagasy African proverb, “The child of a rat is a rat.”
20. 覆水盆に帰らず。
Translation: “Spilt water will not return to the tray.”
Meaning: A way of saying, “No use crying over spilled milk,” only water fittingly seems like way less of a significant loss than milk.
21. 知らぬが仏
Translation: “Not knowing is Buddha.”
Meaning: A more mystical way of saying “Ignorance is bliss.” Bust this one out on the beach or at a party, trust me.
22. 猫に小判
Translation: “Gold coins to a cat.”
Meaning: Same as “pearls before swine,” meaning to give a gift to someone who can’t appreciate it.
Other idiomatic phrases that don’t relate to anything in English
23. 井の中の蛙大海を知らず。
Translation: “A frog in a well does not know the great sea.”
Meaning: People make judgments based on their own limited experiences with no knowledge of the world outside of those experiences.
24. 二兎を追う者は一兎をも得ず。
Translation: “One who chases after two hares won’t catch even one.”
Meaning: If you try to do two things at once, you will fail at both. Or, in the words of Ron Swanson, “Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.”
25. 門前の小僧習わぬ経を読む。
Translation: “An apprentice near a temple will recite the scriptures untaught.”
Meaning: Like saying, “People are a product of their environment.”
26. 七転び八起き
Translation: “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”
Meaning: This one rolls “if at first you don’t succeed” and “perseverance is better than defeat” into one idiom.
27. 案ずるより産むが易し。
Translation: “Giving birth to a baby is easier than worrying about it.”
Meaning: Stressing out about something is usually worse than the thing you’re stressing out about. And it certainly doesn’t help.
28. 馬鹿は死ななきゃ治らない。
Translation: “Unless an idiot dies, he won’t be cured.”
Meaning: This Japanese phrase is a harsh way of saying, “Only death will cure a fool.” Or maybe, “You can’t fix stupid.”
29. 秋茄子は嫁に食わすな。
Translation: “Don’t let your daughter-in-law eat your autumn eggplants.”
Meaning: Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of.
30. 花より団子
Translation: “Dumplings rather than flowers.”
Meaning: This one is used to refer to someone who prefers substance over style, a practical person. There’s that use of “flower” again.
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