# The 15 most common Japanese proverbs

Famous kotowaza used in everyday Japanese, with their meaning and the closest English equivalent. Chosen from standard dictionaries and proverb collections.

- 0 votes · 16 items
- Mar 4, 2024 · vinyl_tokyo
- https://even.best/en/l/457/the-15-most-common-japanese-proverbs

## Top 15

1. **Even monkeys fall from trees** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Even experts make mistakes.
2. **Fall seven times, get up eight** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Never give up, however many times you fail.
3. **Three years on a stone** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Patience and perseverance pay off in the end (even a cold stone warms up after three years).
4. **Dumplings rather than flowers** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Choosing practical benefits over beauty (eating sweets at the cherry-blossom party instead of looking at the blossoms).
5. **Gold coins to a cat** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Giving something valuable to someone who can't appreciate it. English: pearls before swine.
6. **If in a hurry, go around** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — When in a hurry, the safe, sure route is quicker. English: more haste, less speed.
7. **Even dust piles up into a mountain** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Small things add up to something big.
8. **Ten people, ten colours** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Everyone has different tastes and opinions.
9. **The frog in the well knows nothing of the great ocean** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Someone with a narrow view who doesn't know the wider world.
10. **The nail that sticks out gets hammered down** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Those who stand out get criticized or envied.
11. **Hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Seeing for yourself beats hearing about it. English: seeing is believing.
12. **He who chases two hares catches neither** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Try to do two things at once and you'll fail at both.
13. **Giving birth is easier than worrying about it** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Things are usually easier once you actually do them.
14. **Even a dog that walks around bumps into a stick** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — If you go out and do things, you'll run into bad luck, or good luck.
15. **Spilt water doesn't return to the tray** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — What's done can't be undone. English: no use crying over spilt milk.
16. **One time, one meeting** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Treasure every encounter, as it will never happen again; from the tea ceremony.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.