A Japanese proverb (諺, ことわざ) may take the form of: Although "proverb" and "saying" are practically synonymous, the same cannot be said about "idiomatic phrase" and "four-character idiom". Not all kan'yōku and yojijukugo are proverbial. For instance, the kan'yōku literally 'a fox's wedding', meaning "a sunshower" (狐の嫁入り) and the yojijukugo literally 'small spring weather', meaning "Indian summer" – warm spring-like weather in early winter (小春日和) are not proverbs. To be considered a proverb, a word or phrase must express a common truth or wisdom; it cannot be a mere noun.

Origin

Numerous Asian proverbs, including Japanese, appear to be derived from older Chinese proverbs, although it often is impossible to be completely sure about the direction of cultural influences (and hence, the origins of a particular proverb or idiomatic phrase). Because traditional Japanese culture was tied to agriculture, many Japanese proverbs are derived from agricultural customs and practices. Some are from the board game Go (e.g., fuseki o utsu (布石を打つ)), the tea ceremony (e.g., ichi go ichi e (一期一会)), and Buddhism. Many four-character idioms are from Chinese philosophy written in Classical Chinese, in particular "The Analects" by Confucius. ('a frog in a well' (井の中の蛙) is Classical Chinese, from the Zhuangzi.)

Usage

Japanese commonly use proverbs, often citing just the first part of common phrases for brevity. For example, one might say 'a frog in a well' (井の中の蛙) to refer to the proverb 'a frog in a well cannot conceive of the ocean' (井の中の蛙、大海を知らず). Whereas proverbs in English are typically multi-worded phrases (e.g. "kill two birds with one stone"), Japanese yojijukugo borrow from Chinese and compactly convey the concept in one compound word (e.g., 'one stone two birds' (一石二鳥)).

Examples

Sayings

Idiomatic phrases

Four-character idioms