Kotowaza — Japanese Proverbs Worth Knowing
Monkeys falling from trees, dumplings over flowers — a handful of Japanese proverbs (kotowaza) that show up constantly in conversation, and what they really mean.
諺 (kotowaza) are short, fixed proverbs that Japanese speakers drop into conversation the same way English speakers reach for “don't count your chickens.” Because the phrasing is fixed, learning a proverb as one chunk — rather than translating it word by word — is usually the fastest way to actually recognize it when it's used.
Proverbs about effort and mistakes
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 猿も木から落ちる | さるもきからおちる sarumokikaraochiru | “even monkeys fall from trees” — everyone makes mistakes sometimes |
| 七転び八起き | ななころびやおき nanakorobiyaoki | “fall down seven times, get up eight” — perseverance through failure |
| 石の上にも三年 | いしのうえにもさんねん ishinouenimosannen | “three years sitting on a stone” — patience eventually pays off |
| 塵も積もれば山となる | ちりもつもればやまとなる chirimotsumorebayamatonaru | “even dust piles into a mountain” — small efforts add up |
Substance over style
花より団子 (hana yori dango, “dumplings over flowers”) pokes fun at anyone who'd rather eat than admire cherry blossoms — it's used generally for choosing the practical, substantial option over the merely pretty one. For the tradition it's teasing, see hanami, cherry blossom viewing.
Proverbs about waste and value
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 猫に小判 | ねこにこばん nekonikoban | “gold coins to a cat” — something valuable wasted on someone who can't appreciate it |
| 豚に真珠 | ぶたにしんじゅ butanishinju | “pearls before swine” — the same idea, a near-exact match to the English idiom |
| 時は金なり | ときはかねなり tokihakanenari | “time is money,” said essentially the same way as in English |
| 習うより慣れろ | ならうよりなれろ narauyorinarero | “practice beats being taught” — hands-on repetition over pure instruction |
Recognizing them mid-conversation
Kotowaza often get shortened in speech — someone might say only 猿も木から and trail off, trusting the listener to finish it mentally. Building a small personal list of the most common ones, the way you'd learn sound and mimetic words, pays off quickly once you start noticing them in the wild.
🔊 Tap any word in the vocabulary tables to hear it spoken.