Archive for the ‘Meaningful Proverbs’ Category
Aftermath
Japanese Proverb
雨降って地固まる.
Ame futte ji katamaru.
(Literally) After the rain, the earth hardens.
Meaning: Adversity builds character. Things will be on more solid ground after a storm passes.
Earning Stripes
A long time ago back in Japanese class during college, we had an assignment where we had to make up our own haiku and then present our 5-7-5 syllable Japanese poems to everyone else. We also had to explain the significance of our poems.
I recall this time period back in the day because my Japanese sensei wrote a haiku about her pregnancy, and me (having a brain fart at the worst possible times) totally forgot that ‘stomach’ in Japanese was お腹 (onaka). So yeah, it was quite embarrassing when I had to be the one to put a dent in her special haiku announcement to the class that she was having a baby. >.>
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Meaningful Proverbs No. 2
There is an extremely simple, but meaningful Japanese proverb.
猿も木から落ちる。
Saru mo ki kara ochiru.
(Even monkeys fall from trees.)
There is not much to analyze about this proverb. It just means that even the best people make mistakes from time to time. I realized a long time ago that worrying too much about making a mistake is good and all, but not expecting to fail at any point is ludicrous. Especially as human beings, we are bound to make our share of blunders and fall from our respective trees.
The key, therefore, is how we climb back up after hitting the ground. Life is all about coming across obstacles and overcoming them. It is a constant test of willpower and perseverance.
Meaningful Proverbs No. 1
There is a Japanese proverb that makes a lot of sense to me.
馬の耳に念仏.
Uma no mimi ni nenbutsu.
(A sutra in a horse’s ear.)
Simply put, this proverb just means that telling someone something that doesn’t make sense to them is pointless. Like, I could spend hours trying to explain how to play LoL to someone who doesn’t play video games, but I wouldn’t get anywhere by doing so.
