Proverbs from Japan

 

 

 

To wait for luck is the same as waiting for death.

 

 

 

One kind word can warm three winter months.

 

 

 

To teach is to learn.

 

 

 

One can stand still in a flowing stream, but not in a world of men.

 

 

 

If the father is a frog, the son will be a frog.

 

 

 

The sparrow flying behind the hawk thinks the hawk is fleeing.

 

 

 

The taller the bamboo grows, the lower it bends.

 

 

 

Luck is like having a rice dumpling fly into your mouth.

 

 

 

When you're dying of thirst it's too late to dig a well.

 

 

 

If you believe everything you read, better not read.

 

 

 

Gain from your opponents without sacrificing your own strength.

 

 

 

You can't see the whole sky through a bamboo tube.

 

 

 

Time spent laughing is time spent with the gods.

 

 

 

Vision with action is a daydream; action without vision is a nightmare.

 

 

 

Fall seven times, stand up eight.

 

 

 

Never rely on the glory of the morning or the smiles of your mother-in-law.

 

 

 

Even a thief takes ten years to learn his trade.

 

 

 

A man in love mistakes a pimple for a dimple.

 

 

 

Better be proficient in one art than a smatterer in a thousand.

 

 

 

Bad and good are intertwined like rope.

 

 

 

Deceive the rich and powerful, if you will, but don't insult them.

 

 

 

Knowledge without wisdom is a load of books on the back of an ass.

 

 

 

When the heat has past, you forget about the shade tree.

 

 

 

The nail that sticks its head up is the one that gets hit.

 

 

 

The reverse side also has a reverse side.

 

 

 

A pig used to dirt turns its nose up at rice.

 

 

 

A monkey makes fun of the red behinds of his fellow monkeys.

 

 

 

A mended lid to a cracked pan.

 

 

 

A man's heart changes as often as does the autumn sky.

 

 

 

A man who always wears his best kimono has no Sunday clothes.

 

 

 

A man of straw is still a man.

 

 

 

A man can endure the worst pain -- of others.

 

 

 

A lie has no legs but scandalous wings.

 

 

 

A journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.

 

 

 

A joke is often the hole through which truth whistles.

 

 

 

A bath refreshes the body, tea refreshes the mind.

 

 

 

A beautiful woman is like an axe in one's life.

 

 

 

A boat that is not tied up will drift along with the stream.

 

 

 

A borrowed cat catches no mice.

 

 

 

A centipede, though dead, will not fall.

 

 

 

A country can be conquered from the back of a horse but may not be ruled in the same manner.

 

 

 

A dead cherry tree will not blossom.

 

 

 

A dying man discovers the honesty with which he was born.

 

 

 

A fallen blossom never returns to the branch.

 

 

 

A fish gets bigger when it gets away.

 

 

 

A fog cannot be dispelled by a fan.

 

 

 

A gilt-edged visiting card often hides an ugly face.

 

 

 

A good religion does not need miracles.

 

 

 

A good husband is healthy and absent.

 

 

 

A good cat does not need a collar of gold.