90 Japanese Idioms & Proverbs (Meanings + Audio)

neko no te mo karitai

Be so busy that any help would be welcome.

Literally: Want to borrow even a cat's paws.

Closest English expression: Be rushed off your feet.

Conversational; describes extreme busyness. · Standard Japanese.

kao ga hiroi

Know many people and have useful connections.

Literally: Have a wide face.

Closest English expression: Be well connected.

Usually positive; not about face shape. · Standard Japanese.

kuchi ga karui

Reveal secrets too readily.

Literally: Have a light mouth.

Closest English expression: Be loose-lipped.

Critical; do not confuse it with being talkative in every context. · Standard Japanese.

kuchi ga katai

Keep confidential information to yourself.

Literally: Have a firm mouth.

Closest English expression: Be discreet.

Complimentary. · Standard Japanese.

atama ga sagaru

Feel deep respect or admiration for someone.

Literally: One's head lowers.

Closest English expression: Take your hat off to someone.

Respectful; expresses the speaker's admiration. · Standard Japanese.

mimi ga itai

Find a criticism painful because it is true.

Literally: The ears hurt.

Closest English expression: Hit close to home.

Usually self-reflective; can also be literal. · Standard Japanese.

me kara uroko ga ochiru

Suddenly understand or see something in a new way.

Literally: Scales fall from the eyes.

Closest English expression: An eye-opening realization.

Positive; often shortened to 目から鱗. · Standard Japanese.

hara ga tatsu

Feel angry or irritated.

Literally: The belly stands up.

Closest English expression: Get annoyed.

Common; relatively direct about anger. · Standard Japanese.

kata no ni ga oriru

Feel relieved after a responsibility or worry ends.

Literally: A load comes off the shoulders.

Closest English expression: A weight off your shoulders.

Positive relief. · Standard Japanese.

te ga hanasenai

Be occupied with something that cannot be interrupted.

Literally: Cannot let go with one's hands.

Closest English expression: Have your hands full.

Useful when politely explaining a delay. · Standard Japanese.

ki ga au

Get along naturally with someone.

Literally: One's spirits fit together.

Closest English expression: Be on the same wavelength.

Positive; friendship rather than necessarily romance. · Standard Japanese.

ki ga chiru

Lose concentration.

Literally: One's attention scatters.

Closest English expression: Get distracted.

Neutral; work and study. · Standard Japanese.

kubi o nagaku shite matsu

Wait eagerly for something.

Literally: Wait with a stretched neck.

Closest English expression: Look forward eagerly.

Warm, expectant. · Standard Japanese.

nodo kara te ga deru

Want something intensely.

Literally: A hand comes out of the throat.

Closest English expression: Be desperate to get something.

Vivid; often followed by ほど, to the extent that. · Standard Japanese.

ashi o hipparu

Hold someone back or undermine their efforts.

Literally: Pull someone's leg.

Closest English expression: Drag someone down.

Negative; unlike English pull your leg, it does not mean joke. · Standard Japanese.

mizu ni nagasu

Forgive a past disagreement and stop bringing it up.

Literally: Let it flow into the water.

Closest English expression: Let bygones be bygones.

Reconciliation; should not dismiss serious harm. · Standard Japanese.

ōme ni miru

Overlook a small fault or treat it leniently.

Literally: Look with a broad allowance.

Closest English expression: Let it slide.

Can ask for indulgence; not the same as approve. · Standard Japanese.

neko o kaburu

Hide one's real nature behind a quiet or innocent manner.

Literally: Wear a cat.

Closest English expression: Put on an innocent act.

Critical or teasing. · Standard Japanese.

hana yori dango

Prefer practical enjoyment or benefit to appearance.

Literally: Dumplings rather than flowers.

Closest English expression: Substance over show.

Playful; especially natural around flower viewing and food. · Standard Japanese.

takane no hana

Something or someone admired but considered out of reach.

Literally: A flower on a high peak.

Closest English expression: Out of one's league.

Can concern romance, luxury goods or ambitions. · Standard Japanese.

atama o kakaeru

Be troubled by a difficult problem.

Literally: Hold one's head.

Closest English expression: Be at one's wits' end.

Descriptive. · Standard Japanese.

atama ga agaranai

Feel unable to oppose someone because of obligation or unequal standing.

Literally: Cannot raise one's head.

Closest English expression: Be beholden to someone.

Context-sensitive; not simply respectful admiration. · Standard Japanese.

me ga takai

Have discerning taste and recognize quality.

Literally: Have high eyes.

Closest English expression: Have a good eye.

Complimentary. · Standard Japanese.

me ga nai

Be unable to resist something you like.

Literally: Have no eyes.

Closest English expression: Have a weakness for something.

Use with に; other senses depend on context. · Standard Japanese.

me o maruku suru

Open your eyes wide in surprise.

Literally: Make the eyes round.

Closest English expression: Be wide-eyed with surprise.

Neutral. · Standard Japanese.

mimi o kasu

Listen to another person's words or advice.

Literally: Lend an ear.

Closest English expression: Lend an ear.

Neutral; often negated for refusing to listen. · Standard Japanese.

mimi ni tako ga dekiru

Hear the same thing so often that you are tired of it.

Literally: Develop calluses on the ears.

Closest English expression: Hear it a thousand times.

Informal and potentially impatient. · Standard Japanese.

hana ga takai

Feel proud of an achievement or someone close to you.

Literally: Have a high nose.

Closest English expression: Be proud.

Can imply vanity, but often warm pride. · Standard Japanese.

hana ni kakeru

Make a show of an achievement or advantage.

Literally: Hang it on the nose.

Closest English expression: Show off.

Critical; more negative than 鼻が高い. · Standard Japanese.

kuchi o dasu

Interfere by offering unsolicited comments.

Literally: Put one's mouth out.

Closest English expression: Butt in.

Often negative; can simply mean have a say. · Standard Japanese.

te o kasu

Help someone with a task.

Literally: Lend a hand.

Closest English expression: Lend a hand.

Neutral and common. · Standard Japanese.

te o nuku

Put less effort or care into a task than it needs.

Literally: Pull out the hand.

Closest English expression: Cut corners.

Usually critical. · Standard Japanese.

te ni oenai

Be too difficult to manage.

Literally: Cannot bear it in one's hands.

Closest English expression: Be beyond one's control.

Descriptive. · Standard Japanese.

te ga mawaranai

Lack the time or capacity to attend to everything.

Literally: The hands cannot reach around.

Closest English expression: Not get around to it.

Workload context. · Standard Japanese.

koshi ga omoi

Be slow or reluctant to take action.

Literally: Have a heavy waist.

Closest English expression: Be slow to get moving.

Often mildly critical. · Standard Japanese.

koshi o sueru

Commit to a task calmly and for the necessary time.

Literally: Settle one's waist in place.

Closest English expression: Settle down to work.

Positive. · Standard Japanese.

hone o oru

Make a considerable effort for a task or person.

Literally: Break one's bones.

Closest English expression: Go to great lengths.

Appreciative or descriptive; not literal injury. · Standard Japanese.

ase o nagasu

Work or exercise hard.

Literally: Let sweat flow.

Closest English expression: Work up a sweat.

Positive; literal and figurative senses overlap. · Standard Japanese.

abura o uru

Waste time chatting instead of working.

Literally: Sell oil.

Closest English expression: Dawdle.

Critical or teasing. · Standard Japanese.

See it in a story: 小豆島の醤油蔵に残った最後の木桶 (B1)

michikusa o kuu

Stop or wander off on the way somewhere.

Literally: Eat grass along the road.

Closest English expression: Dawdle on the way.

Conversational. · Standard Japanese.

mune o nadeorosu

Feel relieved after a worry is resolved.

Literally: Stroke the chest downward.

Closest English expression: Breathe a sigh of relief.

Common. · Standard Japanese.

mune ga odoru

Feel excited with anticipation.

Literally: The chest dances.

Closest English expression: One's heart leaps.

Positive. · Standard Japanese.

mune ga ippai ni naru

Be overwhelmed with emotion.

Literally: The chest becomes full.

Closest English expression: Be deeply moved.

Can be joy, gratitude or sadness. · Standard Japanese.

kimo o hiyasu

Experience a sudden fright.

Literally: Chill the liver.

Closest English expression: Have a heart-stopping moment.

Strong but common. · Standard Japanese.

chi no ke ga hiku

Turn pale from fear or shock.

Literally: The blood drains away.

Closest English expression: Go white with shock.

Strong emotion. · Standard Japanese.

ki ga omoi

Feel reluctant or worried about something ahead.

Literally: The spirit is heavy.

Closest English expression: Dread something.

Common. · Standard Japanese.

ki ga raku ni naru

Feel less worried or pressured.

Literally: The spirit becomes at ease.

Closest English expression: Feel a weight lift.

Common. · Standard Japanese.

mushi ga sukanai

Dislike someone instinctively without a clear reason.

Literally: The inner insect does not like it.

Closest English expression: Take an instinctive dislike.

Blunt and negative. · Standard Japanese.

zu ni noru

Grow overconfident after success or praise.

Literally: Ride the favorable pattern.

Closest English expression: Get carried away.

Critical. · Standard Japanese.

ki o otosu

Become discouraged.

Literally: Drop one's spirits.

Closest English expression: Lose heart.

Often in reassurance. · Standard Japanese.

uma ga au

Feel compatible and get along smoothly.

Literally: The horses match.

Closest English expression: Hit it off.

Conversational. · Standard Japanese.

hara o waru

Speak frankly about one's true thoughts.

Literally: Split open the belly.

Closest English expression: Have a heart-to-heart.

Informal metaphor; frank discussion. · Standard Japanese.

kao o tateru

Act in a way that preserves someone's dignity or standing.

Literally: Make someone's face stand.

Closest English expression: Help someone save face.

Relationship-sensitive. · Standard Japanese.

kao ni doro o nuru

Damage someone's reputation or bring them shame.

Literally: Smear mud on someone's face.

Closest English expression: Disgrace someone.

Strongly critical. · Standard Japanese.

aka no tanin

Someone completely unrelated and unknown to you.

Literally: A red stranger.

Closest English expression: A complete stranger.

Red intensifies the expression; not about ethnicity. · Standard Japanese.

mochitsu motaretsu

Help each other through a reciprocal relationship.

Literally: Supporting and being supported.

Closest English expression: Give and take.

Positive. · Standard Japanese.

taikoban o osu

Give a confident endorsement.

Literally: Stamp a drum-sized seal.

Closest English expression: Give a stamp of approval.

Positive; an assurance of quality. · Standard Japanese.

ocha o nigosu

Avoid a clear answer or manage with a superficial response.

Literally: Cloud the tea.

Closest English expression: Fudge the issue.

Critical. · Standard Japanese.

kugi o sasu

Give a firm warning in advance to prevent a problem.

Literally: Drive in a nail.

Closest English expression: Make something clear beforehand.

Firm; can sound controlling. · Standard Japanese.

saba o yomu

Misrepresent a number, especially one's age, to one's advantage.

Literally: Count mackerel.

Closest English expression: Fudge the numbers.

Conversational; usually critical or teasing. · Standard Japanese.

ichigo ichie

Value an encounter as something that will never recur in exactly the same way.

Literally: One lifetime, one meeting.

Closest English expression: A once-in-a-lifetime encounter.

Reflective; associated with tea ceremony. · Standard Japanese.

isseki nichō

Gain two benefits from one action.

Literally: One stone, two birds.

Closest English expression: Kill two birds with one stone.

Common; positive efficiency. · Standard Japanese.

isshō kenmei

Work with great effort and commitment.

Literally: With one's whole life at stake.

Closest English expression: Do your very best.

Very common; an established four-kanji expression. · Standard Japanese.

See it in a story: 三十年間、同じ席に座り続けた男 (B1)

ishin denshin

Understand each other without spelling everything out.

Literally: Transmit from heart to heart.

Closest English expression: Be on the same wavelength.

Positive; do not assume all Japanese communication works this way. · Standard Japanese.

jigō jitoku

Suffer consequences caused by one's own behavior.

Literally: One's own actions, one's own result.

Closest English expression: You brought it on yourself.

Blunt and critical. · Standard Japanese.

shikō sakugo

Improve a method by trying, noticing problems and trying again.

Literally: Trials and errors.

Closest English expression: Trial and error.

Neutral; learning and design. · Standard Japanese.

rinki ōhen

Adapt flexibly to the situation.

Literally: Respond to change as the occasion requires.

Closest English expression: Think on your feet.

Positive. · Standard Japanese.

jūnin toiro

People have different preferences and ways of thinking.

Literally: Ten people, ten colors.

Closest English expression: Different strokes for different folks.

Accepting; not a literal count. · Standard Japanese.

onko chishin

Gain fresh insights from studying earlier knowledge.

Literally: Know the new by revisiting the old.

Closest English expression: Learn anew from the past.

Classical origin in the Analects. · Standard Japanese.

muga muchū

Be completely absorbed in an activity.

Literally: Without self, within a dream.

Closest English expression: Lose yourself in something.

Neutral to positive. · Standard Japanese.

kido airaku

The range of human emotions.

Literally: Joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure.

Closest English expression: Emotional ups and downs.

A collective noun; not an instruction to feel all four. · Standard Japanese.

kishi kaisei

Recover from a seemingly hopeless situation.

Literally: Rise from death and return to life.

Closest English expression: A dramatic comeback.

Emphatic; often sport or business. · Standard Japanese.

honmatsu tentō

Let secondary concerns displace the main purpose.

Literally: The root and the tip reverse places.

Closest English expression: Put the cart before the horse.

Critical. · Standard Japanese.

itchō ittan

Have both advantages and disadvantages.

Literally: One long point and one short point.

Closest English expression: Pros and cons.

Neutral comparison. · Standard Japanese.

yūjū fudan

Hesitate too much to make a decision.

Literally: Soft and unable to decide.

Closest English expression: Indecisive.

Critical or self-deprecating. · Standard Japanese.

akusen kutō

Struggle hard with a challenging task.

Literally: A difficult battle and a painful struggle.

Closest English expression: Have a hard battle.

Descriptive; not necessarily military. · Standard Japanese.

sessa takuma

Improve together through study and mutual encouragement or rivalry.

Literally: Cut, file, carve and polish.

Closest English expression: Sharpen one another's skills.

Positive; craft metaphor. · Standard Japanese.

taiki bansei

A person of great ability may develop later in life.

Literally: A great vessel is completed late.

Closest English expression: A late bloomer.

Encouraging; a traditional image, not a prediction. · Standard Japanese.

seikō udoku

Live a quiet life paced by nature, work and study.

Literally: Farm in sunshine and read in rain.

Closest English expression: A peaceful rural life.

Literary; often an ideal of retirement. · Standard Japanese.

denkō sekka

Act with exceptional speed.

Literally: Lightning and sparks from flint.

Closest English expression: In a flash.

Emphatic. · Standard Japanese.

saru mo ki kara ochiru

Even skilled people make mistakes.

Literally: Even monkeys fall from trees.

Closest English expression: Even Homer nods.

Reassuring or gently corrective. · Standard Japanese.

nana korobi ya oki

Keep recovering and trying after setbacks.

Literally: Fall seven times, get up eight.

Closest English expression: Get back on your feet.

Encouraging; also written 七転八起. · Standard Japanese.

isogaba maware

A safer, reliable route may be faster than a risky shortcut.

Literally: If in a hurry, go around.

Closest English expression: More haste, less speed.

Practical advice. · Standard Japanese.

ishi no ue ni mo san nen

Patient perseverance can bring results.

Literally: Even on a stone, three years.

Closest English expression: Stick with it.

Traditional; three years is figurative, not a rule to endure harmful situations. · Standard Japanese.

chiri mo tsumoreba yama to naru

Small amounts add up over time.

Literally: Even dust becomes a mountain when it accumulates.

Closest English expression: Every little helps.

Can concern savings, effort or accumulating problems. · Standard Japanese.

ni to o ou mono wa itto o mo ezu

Trying to pursue competing goals can make both fail.

Literally: Who pursues two rabbits catches neither.

Closest English expression: Do not chase two hares.

A caution about divided effort, not a universal ban on multitasking. · Standard Japanese.

anzuru yori umu ga yasushi

A task may prove easier than the anxiety beforehand suggests.

Literally: Giving birth is easier than worrying about it.

Closest English expression: It may be easier than you fear.

Traditional childbirth metaphor; not medical advice. · Standard Japanese.

kiku wa ittoki no haji, kikanu wa isshō no haji

A brief embarrassment is worth gaining understanding.

Literally: Asking is a moment's shame; not asking is a lifetime's shame.

Closest English expression: Better to ask than remain ignorant.

Encourages questions; shame wording is traditional. · Standard Japanese.

ame futte ji katamaru

A relationship or situation can become stronger after a dispute.

Literally: Rain falls and the ground becomes firm.

Closest English expression: Come out stronger after trouble.

Hopeful; not a claim that every conflict helps. · Standard Japanese.

hyakubun wa ikken ni shikazu

Seeing something directly can teach more than hearing about it.

Literally: A hundred reports do not equal one look.

Closest English expression: Seeing is believing.

Traditional; direct experience still needs judgment. · Standard Japanese.