Japanese Proverbs
Click here to edit introduction

Welcome to Our Free Download Japanese Proverb Kanji Collection!

Please find an assortment of specialized free clipart collections for your use.

We have created over 200 kanji proverb translations in our database for you to use absolutely free. These are literal translations of Chinese and Jpanese proverbs created in traditional kanji, the Chinese characters that have been adopted for use in the Japanese language. The proverbs included in our database have been carefully researched and created to ensure that the translation is correct.


Enjoy

 

Download Instructions: Click on the arrow. The image will appear in a seperate window then right-click and "save target as" to download

 

 Better to be Happy than Rich 安貧樂道
 Brevity: Fewer Words are Best 少說為佳
 Broken Mirror Rejoined 破鏡重圓
 The Five Tenets of Confucius 仁義禮智信
 Confucius: Golden Rule 己所不欲勿施於人
 Drinking the water of a well,  ..one should never forget who dug it 吃水不忘掘井人
 Learning is Eternal 學無止境
 Example is Better than Precept 身教勝於言教
 Experience is the ...Mother of Wisdom 經驗是智慧之母
 Failure is the  ...Mother of Success 失敗是成功之母
 Heaven Blesses the Diligent 天道酬勤
 Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger 藏龍臥虎
 Impartial and Fair to the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the World 一視同人
 A Deliberate Inaction ...Is Better Than A Blind Action. 一動不如一靜
 A Life of Serenity Yields Understanding 淡泊以明志寧靜而致遠
Achieve Inner Peace  ... Find Deep Understanding 寧靜而致遠
One Justice Can Overpower 100 Evils 一正壓百邪
Learn from Wisdom 見賢思齊
Listen to Both Sides and be Enlightened, ...Listen to One Side and be in the Dark 兼聽則明偏聽則暗
Maintain An Army For 1000 Days ...Use It For An Hour 養兵千日用兵一時
Better Late Than Never 亡羊補牢猶未為晚
Open the Minds of the Next Generation  ...To Stimulate Thinking 啟迪
An Open Book Benefits Your Mind 開卷有益
Undaunted After Repeated Setbacks 百折不撓
Profound 入木三分
Push or Knock 反復推敲
Read 10,000 Books, ...Travel 10,000 Miles 讀萬卷書行萬裡路
Not Only Can Water Float A Boat,  ...It Can Sink It Also 水能載舟亦能覆舟
A sly rabbit has three openings to its den 狡兔三窟
Three People, One is a Teacher. 三人行有我師
Tiger Rumor 三人成虎
In Wine there is Truth 酒后吐真言
Universal Benevolence 一視同仁
Unselfish: Perfectly Impartial 大公無私
Each Time You Stumble & Fall, ...You Gain Experience & Wisdom 吃一塹長一智
Work Unselfishly for the Common Good 克己奉公
All good things must come to an end. Or The best of friends must part. 天下無不散之筵席
The pot calls the kettle black. 五十步笑百步
You can't see the forest for the trees, but onlookers see the whole game. 當局者迷
Certain bad luck is actually "a blessing in disguise." 塞翁失馬
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 各花入各眼
Good luck seldom comes in pairs but bad things never walk (occur) alone. 禍不單行
Fight fire with fire. 以毒攻毒
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may. 花開堪折直需折
Time and tide waits for no man. 歲月不留人
Each family has its own kind of hell. 家家有一本難念的經
A chip off the old block. 虎父虎子
Man proposes and god disposes. 人算不如天算
Money makes the world go around. Or: Money talks. 有錢能使鬼推磨
The course of true love never runs smooth. 好事多磨
Even thieves have their principles.  盜亦有道
A man must learn to sail in all winds. 大丈夫能屈能伸
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. 不入虎穴,焉得虎子
Want to have your cake and eat it too. 又要馬兒好,又要馬兒不食草
There is no smoke without fire. 無風不起浪
In Rome do as the Romans do. 入鄉隨俗
Birds of a feather flock together. Or: Like attracts 物以類聚
Kissing the baby for the nurse (or nanny). 醉翁之意不在酒
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. 牛不飲水,不能按牛頭低
Pride goes before a fall. 驕兵必敗
Kill two birds with one stone. 一箭雙雕
A leopard cannot change its spots. Or: Old habits die hard. 本性難移
Too many cooks spoil the broth. 三個和尚擔水無粥食
What thousands must die so that Caesar may become great. 一將功成萬骨枯
Once bitten, twice shy. 一刻被蚊咬終日怕蚊叮
All that glitters is not gold and beware of the skeleton in the closet. 金玉其外,敗絮其中
More haste, less speed. 欲速則不達
Do not put all your eggs in one basket. 狡兔有三窟
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. 老婆是別人的靚
A woman's heart is as deep as the ocean. 女人心海底針
The best defense is an offense. 以攻為守
Great minds think alike. 英雄所見略同
Example is better than precept. 以身作則
Marriage is the death of romance. 婚姻是戀愛的墳墓
Those who lived by the sword died by the sword. 將軍難免陣上亡
The fish which nibbles at every bait will be caught. 上得山多終遇虎
Similar to: "from the mouths of babes." 童言無欺
Good stuff need not be advertised, they advertise themselves.  有麝自然香
The longer you wait, the more unexpected developments may occur. 夜長夢多
Urgent local problems cannot be solved by distant .resources. 遠水不能救近火
Nice things (words) won't come from a bad source. 狗口不出象牙
You cannot cover up a scandal easily. Or : Truth will out. 紙包不著火
Crime; corruption; graft; favoritism; nepotism etc ..is the same everywhere. 天下烏鴉一樣黑
"Do right and fear no man" A quiet conscience sleeps in thunder. 為人不作虧心事,夜半敲門也不驚
There are always some dead wood within a large organization.  樹大有枯枝,族大有乞兒
A superior force in a foreign and unfamiliar territory is inferior to a weaker but local force. 猛虎不及地頭虫
When you are out of your element, your power is greatly diminished.  虎落平陽被犬欺
Like a fish out of water  龍游淺水被蝦戲
ergo, it will have no choice but to make a desperate stand and attack you. 趕狗入窮巷
Fat pigs , you guessed it, are headed for the dinning table. 樹大召風
When you are big and/or famous you are more of a target for attack, jealousy etc. 人怕名﹐豬怕壯
What hurts us instructs us. 忠言逆耳,良藥苦口
When you are poor and have no food, even the craftiest housewife cannot produce a meal. 巧婦難為無米灶
Similar but not identical to the phrase "Tunnel vision."  井底蛙之見
There are always good and bad within a group. 十隻手指各有長短
Through studying you will gain success and fortunes will follow. 書中自有顏如玉,書中自有黃金屋
you reap what you sow. 種瓜得瓜,種豆得豆
The master is surpassed by the apprentice. 冰生于水已寒於水,青出于藍已勝於藍
3 ordinary people putting their heads together can come up with good ideas. 三個臭皮丈,一個諸葛亮
Two heads are better than one. 一人計短,二人計長
What is done cannot be undone. 覆水難收
You cannot take back what you have said. Similar to : A word spoken is past recalling. 一言(已)出,駟馬難追
Careless talk leads to trouble. 病從口入,禍從口出
A hard task separates the weak from the strong and time will tell the truthful from the guile. 路遙知馬力﹐日久見人心
If you don't kill the golden goose, you will still get a golden egg everyday.  留得青山在﹐不怕無柒燒
When god closes one door he/she/it opens another. 天無絕人之路
Studying is like rowing against the current, if you are not moving forward, you are moving backward. 學如逆水行舟,不進則退
3 people walking abreast, my teacher must be amongst them. 三人行必有我師焉
Something that can help you to success usually carries with it great risks. 水能載舟,水能覆舟
If you do not work hard; you will be sorry when you grow old. 少壯不老力,老大徒悲傷
Greed leads to poverty. This is similar to the saying "Grab all , lose all ." 貪字變貧字
Similar to "A friend in need is a friend indeed." 患難見真情
Persistence pays off. Similar to " Little strokes fell great oaks " 鐵柱磨成針
Free from office, free from care. 無官一身輕
After you make use of your tools, you put them away.  飛鳥盡良弓藏,獵物盡走狗(烤)
Those who win the revolution write the history books. 成者為王,敗者為寇
The mediocrity shines in an arena where there are no real talents around. 海中無魚蝦子大
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts 無事獻慇懃,非奸即盜
You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.  杇木不可雕
You cannot judge a book by its cover. 人不可貌相
When one guy gets promoted, his associates all get promoted.  一人得道,雞犬皆升
It takes a long time to produce a generation of educated and cultured population.  十年樹木,百年樹人
The perfect gentleman thinks and acts in terms of what is right while the shyster is motivated only by profit. 君子喻于義,小人喻于利
From simple sharing rooms with friends to the shark infested world of marriage, ain't this the truth !! 相見好,同住難
Wine loosen our tongues  酒後吐真言
A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. 一鳥在手勝過百鳥在林
“Slave of our wives". 一生兒女債,半世老婆奴
Time is money but, more often than not, even when you have money, you may not be able to buy the time you need. 一寸光陰一寸金,寸金難買寸光陰
Every individual is ultimately responsible for the causes leading to the prosperity or decay of his/her country.  國家興亡,匹夫有責
Give a man a fish and he will eat for one day; teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime." 賜子千金,不如賜子一技
So, often in the course, Of life's few fleeting years, A single pleasure costs, The soul a thousand tears. 一失足成千古恨
You will only regret how little you have learnt when you need to utilize what you have learnt,  書到用時方恨少
Absence makes the heart grow fonder.  久別勝新婚
There is no greater sorrow than a heart that never rejoices. 至哀莫大於心死
Real gold (or real man, real woman etc..) can stand the trial by fire .  真金不怕溶爐火
Off by an inch, off by a mile  差之毫厘﹐謬之千里
You need to deal with the root of evil instead of its manifestation. 斬草不徐根﹐春風吹又生。
A people in a state of hunger and destitution would not pay much heed to higher ideals. Their primary goal is to survive and will do anything, whether they be right or wrong, to achieve that. 衣食足則知榮辱。
If you yourself is not morally upright, your preaching will not be credible.  其身不正﹐其令不行。
He who lies down with dogs gets up with fleas. 近朱者赤﹐近墨者黑。
Spoon feeding leads only to regurgitation of undigested knowledge.  學而不思則罔﹐思而不學則殆。
3 feet thick ice is not formed due to a mere 3 days of cold weather.  冰凍三尺﹐非一日之寒。
May you live in interesting times 寧為太平狗﹐不做亂世人。
What Peter says about Paul tells more about Peter than Paul 來說是非者﹐便是是非人。

 

 

Help spread the word about our site! We are always very appreciative of webmasters linking back to Silk Road Enterprises. To link to us, please choose and save one of the logos below, and link it to http://www.silkroadenterprisecn.com Thanks for your show of support!