← Back
Proverbs and Idioms
Common Japanese proverbs and their meanings.
七転び八起き
Fall seven times stand up eight
nana korobi ya oki
Perseverance
石の上にも三年
Sit on a stone for three years and it warms up
ishi no ue ni mo san nen
Patience brings results
花より団子
Dumplings rather than flowers
hana yori dango
Practical over aesthetic
猿も木から落ちる
Even monkeys fall from trees
saru mo ki kara ochiru
Experts make mistakes too
出る杭は打たれる
The nail that sticks up gets hammered down
deru kui wa utareru
Stand out at your peril
一石二鳥
One stone two birds
isseki nichou
Kill two birds with one stone
七難隠す
Hides seven flaws
shichi nan kakusu
Beauty conceals imperfections
急がば回れ
Hurry and take the roundabout way
isogaba maware
More haste less speed
継続は力なり
Continuation is power
keizoku wa chikara nari
Practice makes perfect
百聞は一見にしかず
Hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once
hyakubun wa ikken ni shikazu
Seeing is believing
知らぬが仏
Not knowing is Buddha
shiranu ga hotoke
Ignorance is bliss
時は金なり
Time is money
toki wa kane nari
