30 Awesome Japanese Idioms We Should Start Using in English

1. 自業自得

Translation: “One’s act, one’s profit”

Meaning: Similar to “you reap what you sow.” Everyone eventually faces the consequences of their actions.

2. 十人十色

Translation: “Ten men, ten colors”

Meaning: Similar to “different strokes for different folks.” People have different tastes and preferences — and that’s okay.

3. 起死回生

Translation: “Wake from death and return to life”

Meaning: To take a bad or desperate situation and turn it into a successful one.

4. 我田引水

Translation: “Pulling water to my own rice paddy”

Meaning: To do or say things for your own benefit.

5. 悪因悪果

Translation: “Evil cause, evil effect”

Meaning: Another iteration of “you reap what you sow.” This one is a tad more specific and almost suggests a karmic outcome.

6. 見ぬが花

Translation: “Not seeing is a flower.”

Meaning: In Japan, flowers can be used to represent imagination, beauty, and sometimes politeness. In this case, the idiom means, “Reality cannot compete with imagination.”

7. 弱肉強食

Translation: “The weak are meat; the strong eat.”

Meaning: This one’s pretty straightforward, meaning something like “survival of the fittest.” Bonus points because it rhymes.

8. 海千山千

Translation: “Ocean thousand, mountain thousand”

Meaning: A reference to the sly old fox, someone who’s seen everything and can therefore handle any situation, usually through cunning.

9. 酔生夢死

Translation: “Drunken life, dreamy death”

Meaning: To dream your life away or have your head in the clouds. To spend all your time daydreaming without accomplishing anything.

10. 一期一会

Translation: “One life, one encounter”

Meaning: Every encounter is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. Sometimes used as a reminder to cherish every moment because you’ll only experience it once.

11. 異体同心

Translation: “Different body, same mind”

Meaning: Refers to kindred spirits or like-minded people, somewhat similar to calling someone a “brother from another mother.”

12. 羊頭狗肉

Translation: “Sheep head, dog meat”

Meaning: False advertising, similar to the phrase “crying wine and selling vinegar,” only the Japanese idiom paints a more graphic picture.

13. 会者定離

Translation: “Meeting person always separated”

Meaning: Perhaps the most Confucius-esque idiom of the bunch, this one simply means that every meeting must end in a parting.

14. 美人薄命

Translation: “Beautiful person, thin life”

Meaning: More superstition than anything else, this one really means that a “beautiful woman is destined to die young” but is more analogous to “beauty fades.”

15. 自業自得

Translation: “Work of self, obtainment of self”

Meaning: Similar to “you get what you give,” only the Japanese version sounds way more fulfilling and relevant for self-improvement.

Other idiomatic phrases that relate to English idioms or proverbs

16. 虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず。

Translation: “If you do not enter the tiger’s cave, you will not catch its cub.”

Meaning: You can’t achieve anything without taking risks, or “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

17. 猿も木から落ちる。

Translation: “Even monkeys fall from trees.”

Meaning: A considerably more hilarious way to say, “Everybody makes mistakes.”

18. 蓼食う虫も好き好き

Translation: “There are even bugs that eat knotweed.”

Meaning: A roundabout way of saying, “There’s no accounting for taste” or “to each his own.” Japanese knotweed is one of the world’s worst invasive species.

19. 蛙の子は蛙。

Translation: “Child of a frog is a frog.”

Meaning: “Like father, like son.” It is similar to the Malagasy African proverb, “The child of a rat is a rat.”

20. 覆水盆に帰らず。

Translation: “Spilt water will not return to the tray.”

Meaning: A way of saying, “No use crying over spilled milk,” only water fittingly seems like way less of a significant loss than milk.

21. 知らぬが仏

Translation: “Not knowing is Buddha.”

Meaning: A more mystical way of saying “Ignorance is bliss.” Bust this one out on the beach or at a party, trust me.

22. 猫に小判

Translation: “Gold coins to a cat.”

Meaning: Same as “pearls before swine,” meaning to give a gift to someone who can’t appreciate it.

Other idiomatic phrases that don’t relate to anything in English

23. 井の中の蛙大海を知らず。

Translation: “A frog in a well does not know the great sea.”

Meaning: People make judgments based on their own limited experiences with no knowledge of the world outside of those experiences.

24. 二兎を追う者は一兎をも得ず。

Translation: “One who chases after two hares won’t catch even one.”

Meaning: If you try to do two things at once, you will fail at both. Or, in the words of Ron Swanson, “Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.”

25. 門前の小僧習わぬ経を読む。

Translation: “An apprentice near a temple will recite the scriptures untaught.”

Meaning: Like saying, “People are a product of their environment.”

26. 七転び八起き

Translation: “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”

Meaning: This one rolls “if at first you don’t succeed” and “perseverance is better than defeat” into one idiom.

27. 案ずるより産むが易し。

Translation: “Giving birth to a baby is easier than worrying about it.”

Meaning: Stressing out about something is usually worse than the thing you’re stressing out about. And it certainly doesn’t help.

28. 馬鹿は死ななきゃ治らない。

Translation: “Unless an idiot dies, he won’t be cured.”

Meaning: This Japanese phrase is a harsh way of saying, “Only death will cure a fool.” Or maybe, “You can’t fix stupid.”

29. 秋茄子は嫁に食わすな。

Translation: “Don’t let your daughter-in-law eat your autumn eggplants.”

Meaning: Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of.

30. 花より団子

Translation: “Dumplings rather than flowers.”

Meaning: This one is used to refer to someone who prefers substance over style, a practical person. There’s that use of “flower” again.