4-letter cha ra cter prov erbs
四文字熟語
5-minute Japanese Class by Hitomi Hirayama
よん
y on
N o, M r. Pole! I' ve never had m is o s us hi before. B ut there w as no m is o
in the s us hi y ou ate. W hat y our friend s aid w as a proverb. "T em ae-m is o des u
ga, ois hii des u y o! " m eans , "I don' t m ean to s ing m y ow n prais es , but this is
delicious ! " J apanes e people frequently us e proverbs in daily life, becaus e
being a ble to us e "kotow a za " (prov erbs ) is cons idered to be a s ign of
intelligence. Y ou s hould try to us e s om e, too! It is a good opportunity to
increas e y our J apanes e vocabulary , and y our J apanes e friends w ill think that
y ou are s m art! L earning proverbs is us eful even for bus y people w ho do not
ha v e enough tim e to s tudy J a pa nes e a s they ca n us e prov erbs for
com m unication. B y the w ay , y ou s hould try delicious "m is o pan" (bread w ith
m is o ins ide), w hich is s old at a m is o s tore in K am eido, T oky o! .
Des ign : M as ako B an
I w as recently invited to a friend's hous e, w here his w ife
cooked a lot of J apanes e food for m e. S he s pent the entire
tim e in the kitchen cooking dinner, w hile I w as eating it w ith
her hus band. W hen s he s erved us s om e s us hi, her hus band
told m e, "T em ae-m is o des u ga, ois hii des u yo! " I thought it
w as the m is o us ed for m is o s oup. A s it w as m y firs t
experience to eat m is o s us hi, I s aid, "M is o no s us hi w a
hajim ete des u (I've never had m is o s us hi before)." B ut it did
not tas te like m is o at all w hen I ate it. M s . Hirayam a, have
you ever had m is o s us hi?
■ J a pa n e s e pe o ple like to u s e pr o v e r bs . T h e y a r e u s u a lly v e r y s h o r t
ex pres s ions , but they ca rry a lot of m ea ning. In s om e ca s es , y ou m a y be a ble
to e x pr e s s y o u r th o u gh ts w ith o n e pr o v e r b, in s te a d o f u s in g difficu lt
v oca bula ry a nd gra m m a r to m a ke the s a m e point. M os t prov erbia l s a y ings a re
ea s y to lea rn a nd us e a nd a re a quick w a y to ex pres s com plex idea s . B ut be
ca r efu l. S in ce pr o v er bs a r e fix ed ex pr es s io n s , J a pa n es e peo ple w ill n o t
u n der s ta n d w h a t y o u m ea n u n les s y o u s a y th e w h o le ph r a s e. W e h a v e
des cribed the m ea nings of the prov erbs a s w ell a s the m ea nings of ea ch ka nji
s o tha t y ou ca n rem em ber them m ore ea s ily .
Y ou could us e a J a pa nes e prov erb in the m iddle of a conv ers a tion in E nglis h.
ですね。
des u ne
prov erb
a s king for a greem ent
(…, is n' t it? …, y ou know ?
…, don' t y ou think s o? etc. )
e. g. ,
K oga -s a n :
P ole-s a n :
giv ing inform a tion
mi
ju-
人
nin
十
to
iro
刀
to-
直
入
choku ny u-
(res ult)
因
果
ga
o-
模
mo
索
ho-
E a rs of hors e in the ea s t w ind.
(hors e)
(ea r)
(ea s t)
(w ind)
馬
耳
東
風
ba
ji
to-
報
(fork)(s ca ttered)(dis ruption)
支
s hi
離
ri
滅
裂
fu-
F) T he right pers on for the right job
A pers on gets right job a ccording to his or
her s kills a nd know ledge.
R ight pers on in right pla ce
適
teki
材
za i
(pla ce)
適
teki
所
A lthough ev ery thing is going w ell, a n
enem y m a y s nea k up a nd ov ercom e y ou if
y ou a re not ca reful. It tea ches us to be on
gua rd a t a ll tim es .
C a reles s nes s is the grea tes t enem y .
(ca reles s nes s ) (pow erful enem y )
油
yu
断
da n
大
ta i
敵
ja ku niku ky o-
食
s hoku
P ole-s a n :
friend :
です ね。
des u ne
S urv iv a l of the fittes t
T he pers onnel depa rtm ent did a n ex cellent
job of reorga nizing!
です ね。
des u ne
T he right pers on for the
right job
I ba ked this ca ke m y s elf. I don' t m ea n
to blow m y ow n trum pet, but it' s delicious !
ですが おいしい ですよ。
des u ga "ois hi des u yo"
L et' s be ca reful.
です ね。
des u ne
S ta y on y our toes .
(m y ow n)
手
te
前
m ae
(m is o)
味
mi
so
に お願いします。
ni onega is him a s u
S top bea ting a round
the bus h.
It s eem s like w e a re s till s ea rching in the
da rk, a nd w e ha v e no idea w ha t to do. . .
です ね。
N o idea w ha t to do
P ole-s a n :
to s olv e a problem
des u ne
friend :
friend :
P ole-s a n :
friend :
P ole-s a n :
J ) B low ing one' s ow n trum pet (horn)
(If I m a y s a y s o m y s elf. . . )
I think w e ha v e ha d good w ea ther la tely ,
a nd I hope it' s going to be. . .
friend :
teki
Hom em a de m is o
強
friend :
じゅく
ご juku
go
It is really hard to s ucceed in this com pany becaus e
people on the top have abs olute authority.
If I m ay s ay s o m y s elf,
"It' s delicious ! "
P ole-s a n :
H) S ta y on y our toes
T he w ea k becom es food for the s trong.
肉
friend :
s ho
T his phra s e litera lly m ea ns the w ea k is prey
to the s trong, a nd it is ha rd to s urv iv e. It is
us ed w hen a s m a ll com pa ny is purcha s ed by
a la rger one.
弱
P ole-s a n :
P ole-s a n :
M is o w as a traditional food that people m ade
w hen they w a nted to s how off their culina ry
s kills . S ince J apanes e people do not like to s ing
their ow n prais es , they us e this phas e to s how
their hum ble attitude w hen they w ant to boas t in
a s ubtle w ay.
(w ea k) (m ea t) (s trong) (ea t)
friend :
m ets u rets u
s a ku
I) S urv iv a l of the fittes t
(B ig fis h ea t s m a ll fis h)
(retribution)
応
中
chu-
(grope for)
T his prov erb origina lly m ea ns "a hors e jus t
m ov es its ea rs w hen a s pring w ind blow s . " A
pers on w ho pa y s no a ttention, or s om eone
w ho hea rs the w ords , but let them go in one
ea r a nd out of the other.
R etribution is the res ult of the caus e.
(ca us e)
(in∼)
P ole-s a n :
じ
ji
N o s upport ca us es dis ruption
(right) (m a teria l) (right)
G ) A pers on w ho pa y s no a ttention
W hether w ha t y ou do is good or ba d,
y o u w ill h a v e to de a l w ith th e co n s equences —genera lly us ed a s a w a rning.
in
単
ta n
暗
B ) Y ou rea p w ha t y ou s ow
色
(s ingle) (s w ord)(direct)(put in)
an
If y ou criticize or reprov e s om eone too directly , he or s he m a y be offended or
ev en becom e defens iv e. H ow ev er, if y ou offer y our criticis m in a s ubtle w a y
by us ing kotow a za , y ou m ight s often the pers on up enough to a ccept y our
opinions , ev en though s uch a prov erb m ight ha v e a s trong m ea ning.
十
Direct s ta b w ith one s w ord
(da rk)
a thunderbolt out of the blue
(10) (people) (10) (colors )
It is u s ed to cr iticize s o m eo ne w ho s a y s
s om ething different from w ha t they ha v e s a id
before or w hos e a ctions do not m a tch their
w ords .
A s ea rch in da rknes s
s o?
青天 の へきれき です よ。
s e- ten no hekireki des u y o
T en people w ith 10 colors .
T his m eans "s peak directly," "get to the point,"
ev en if the s ubject is difficult to dis cus s .
J apanes e people us e this phras e w hen they w ant
to clea r things up, s ince they a re genera lly
reluctant to s peak directly right aw ay.
Y ou are unable to find any clues to help s olve
your problem s . Y ou have no idea w hat to do.
N o, it w a s "a thunderbolt out of the blue" for m e, too.
(I w a s s hocked, too. / I w a s s urpris ed, too. )
W h en 10 peo ple get to geth er in o n e
pla ce, ea ch one w ill ha v e a different hobby
or likes a nd dis likes .
D) B eing incons is tent
E ) U na ble to know w ha t to do nor how to
s olv e problem s
です よ。
des u y o
I w a s v ery s urpris ed to hea r tha t his com pa ny
w ent ba nkrupt. Did y ou hea r a ny rum ors a bout it?
A ) T o each his ow n
C ) S top bea ting a round the bus h
friend :
も
m o
friend :
P ole-s a n :
A ns w ers
N othing I s a y m a kes a ny difference to him .
It' s like I' m ta lking to a brick w a ll!
A pers on w ho pa y s no a ttention
です ね。
des u ne
He does n' t know w ha t he' s ta lking a bout.
W ha t he s a y s is confus ing.
です ね。
B eing incons is tent
des u ne
He w a s a lw a y s difficult to dea l w ith, a nd
la s t w eek, he got fired!
R ea ping w ha t y ou s ow
です よ。
des u y o
In the la s t m eeting, w e couldn' t rea ch a
cons ens us .
T o ea ch his ow n
です から. . .
des u ka ra . . .
1. I )
2 . F)
3. J)
4 . H)
5 . C)
6 . E)
7 . G)
8 . D)
9 . B)
1 0 . A)
噌
W ith cooperation from Y as uhiro K oga
Copyright 1999 The Yomiuri Shimbun