When thinking of how to study a language, proverbs might not immediately jump to mind. However, they can be a great addition to your studies, as they give you deeper insight into the culture you’re learning about.

Japanese proverbs not only share wisdom on various aspects of life but also are fun expressions to communicate with. Whether you want inspiration to never give up or need relationship advice, the proverbs in this article will help you.

Japanese Proverbs About Life

笑う門には福来たる（わらうかどにはふくきたる）

Literal Translation: To the family that laughs, good fortune comes.

Meaning: Happiness will naturally come to a family that is full of laughter.

You may be wondering why 来たる is used instead of 来る in this proverb. 来たる is just an old way of saying 来る, and there’s no difference in meaning.

急がば回れ（いそがばまわれ）

Literal Translation: If you’re in a rush, go around.

Meaning: Even though you’re in a rush, it’s better to take the longer, safer route.

急がば is a form from classical Japanese that means “if you are in a hurry.” In modern Japanese, the expected would be 急げば, but this proverb was frozen in this form when it was created more than 500 years ago. The second part of this proverb includes 回れ, which stems from the verb 回る. 回る means to go around, and therefore 回れ refers to taking the longer path.

猿も木から落ちる（さるもきからおちる）

Literal Translation: Even monkeys fall from trees.

Meaning: Even a master can fail.

Despite the fact that monkeys are adept at climbing trees, they can make mistakes and fall. In other words, even people who are masters of their craft can fail, too.

石橋を叩いて渡る（いしばしをたたいてわたる）

Literal Translation: To knock a stone bridge, then cross it.

Meaning: Being very cautious.

This proverb literally means checking if a bridge is strong enough before crossing it. It is used to refer to a very cautious person, one who proceeds carefully, as opposed to someone who rushes headlong into things.

猫の手も借りたい（ねこのてもかりたい）

Literal Translation: I even want to borrow the hand of the cat.

Meaning: Needing all the help you can get because you are short-handed.

This proverb is something you can say when you need so much help that you even need a cat to help you. (“Borrowing a hand” is the converse of “lending a hand” in English. Someone who “borrows a hand” receives assistance from someone.)

海老で鯛を釣る（えびでたいをつる）

Literal Translation: To catch a sea bream with a shrimp.

Meaning: To achieve something great with minimal effort or investment.

This proverb means using a small and inexpensive piece of bait like shrimp to help you win something much more valuable like a sea bream.

You could use this proverb if you were to visit a person’s house with a souvenir and the host offers you a full time job in return.

Japanese Proverbs About Perseverance

石の上にも三年（いしのうえにもさんねん）

Literal Translation: Even on a rock, three years.

Meaning: No matter how hard/tough it is, if you persevere and keep trying, you will eventually succeed.

This sentence doesn’t include the verb “to sit,” 座る, but it implies the act of sitting on a rock. The original idea behind this proverb is that even a cold, hard rock will eventually warm up if you sit there long enough. Sitting on a rock for three years (三年) is difficult, but you have to persevere to achieve success.

七転び八起き（ななころびやおき）

Literal Translation: Fall down seven times, stand up eight.

Meaning: Trying to get up and do your best, no matter how many times you fail.

“Fall down seven times, stand up eight” is a classic. Everyone falls, but it’s the getting up again that determines whether you eventually succeed in your endeavor.

You might think this proverb is a little odd because you can’t stand up more times than you’ve fallen down, but actually, if you were to start from a sitting position, this proverb makes sense.

Japanese Proverbs About Love

痘痕も靨（あばたもえくぼ）

Literal Translation: Even smallpox (looks like) a dimple.

Meaning: Love is blind.

When a person falls in love, they may not be able to see the other person’s flaws. This proverb puts a funny spin on this by saying your love’s smallpox (痘痕) could appear like an adorable dimple (靨).

金の切れ目が縁の切れ目（かねのきれめがえんのきれめ）

Literal Translation: When the money ends, the relationship ends.

Meaning: When the money runs out, so does the relationship.

This proverb is not about relationships in general. Rather, it is an observation about relationships that are based on a financial dimension, including business relationships or financially lopsided romantic relationships.

梅に鶯 （うめにうぐいす ）

Literal Translation: To a plum (tree), a bush warbler.

Meaning: A perfect match.

A bush warbler (鶯) is a type of bird in Japan, and 梅 is a type of plum tree found in Japan as well. A bush warbler in a plum tree not only represents a perfect match between couples but also is a common motif in poetry and classical Japanese painting.

釣った魚に餌をやらない（つったさかなにえさをやらない）

Literal Translation: Not feeding a fish that you have caught.

Meaning: Not putting in effort to maintain a relationship after having achieved it.

This proverb observes that sometimes a person will put great effort into successfully “catching” a romantic partner, but once that relationship is achieved, they no longer put as much effort into maintaining it.

You can use this expression when you see a sign of this. For example, if a person stays out drinking and doesn’t go back home to see their spouse, you could say it is a case of 釣った魚に餌をやらない.

Miscellaneous

馬鹿は死ななきゃ治らない（ばかはしななきゃなおらない）

Literal Translation: If a fool doesn’t die, they won’t be cured.

Meaning: A fool won’t be cured until they die.

This proverb is roughly equivalent to the English expression “You can’t fix stupid.” If you’re watching someone on the news do something dumb, you can say 馬鹿は死ななきゃ治らない.

犬も歩けば棒に当たる （いぬもあるけばぼうにあたる）

Literal Translation: Even a dog, if it walks, will run into a stick.

Meaning 1: Good luck may come unexpectedly.

Meaning 2: If you stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, tragedy may befall you.

Unlike other proverbs, this one has a positive and negative meaning. On one hand, good luck may come by accident, like a dog wandering around and stumbling upon a nice, juicy stick. The idea is that if you get out there and try something, you just might discover something great that you would never have discovered just sitting at home.

On the other hand, if you stick your nose into other people’s affairs, you might end up getting yourself into trouble, like a dog being whacked by a stick. The idea is that sometimes it is better to keep your nose clean and stay out of trouble.

Because of its double-meaning, this proverb relies on context to understand which sense is meant.

Conclusion

Proverbs share a lot of wisdom on life, but they are also beneficial for language studies in various ways. For instance, because proverbs are quick ways to communicate bigger ideas, being able to use them will help you improve your conversational Japanese. Instead of wondering how to express a complicated idea in Japanese, you can just use an expression to get your point across.

You can further expand your knowledge of Japanese expressions with Satori Reader, an app that provides stories in Japanese. With over 1,000 episodes and dozens of stories, you can learn many more useful expressions and proverbs. Click the button below to learn more.