Don't bear a grudge and don't record it.
In a fight no broad hat can be put on.
Good things are cheap.
Stolen things eaten are delicious.
Better than hearsay is actual observation.
❖
Better be a chicken's head than an ox's rump.
A heart of sympathy is the beginning of benevolence.
Even a welcome guest becomes a parasite on the third day.
The wise hawk conceals his talons.
A tile, even though it be polished, does not become a jewel.
❖
Unless you enter the tiger's den you cannot take the cubs.
A cool head and warm feet are the cause of long life.
If the hands are empty the mouth is empty.
The avaricious hawk loses its talons.
Gentleness skillfully subdues wrath.
❖
Under a brave general there are no cowardly soldiers.
A fine horse runs on by observing the shadows of the whip.
If the heart is right the deeds will be right.
Heaven has no mouth but causes man to speak.
A four-horse team cannot overtake the tongue.
❖
Test a horse by riding him and a person by accompanying him.
Better a good heart than a fair face.
Easily changed is a woman's heart.
There are no better treasures than children.
Treasures laid up in the mind do not decay.
❖
An old horse does not forget his path.
The flow of water and the future of human beings are uncertain.
Men's hearts are as different as their faces.
The hunter pursuing the deer sees not the mountain.
An ant hole may collapse an embankment.
❖
When you're hungry nothing is tasteless.
When in a hurry make a detour.
Jealousy is the life of love.
Even a hunter is sometimes caught in a trap.
In a wealthy man's house there is no lean dog.
❖
Inferiors have others below them.
Time flies like an arrow, once gone it does not return.
Fortune and misfortune are like the twisted strands of a rope.
Fallen flowers do not return to branches a shattered mirror does not again reflect.
The tone of the bird's song is the same everywhere.
❖
It is better to be ignorant than to be mistaken.
What is joined may be separated.
Though you see the back of another you cannot see your own.
Illness starts with the mouth.
For good judgement ask old persons.
❖
A few are no match for the many.
When you are busy you have no illness.
A jewel unless polished will not sparkle.
The summer insect knows not ice.
Even a worthless fellow can obtain the consent of a fool.
❖
Large fish do not live in a small pond.
Even little imps when numerous are strong.
Time does wait for man.
Tomorrow is tomorrow, today is today.
He who knows not when he has enough is poor.
❖
Kindness is not just for the sake of others.
No one has ever suffered loss because of laughter.
Even though late it is better to do it than not to do it.
With the fall of one leaf we know that autumn has come to the world.
Even though late it is better to do it than not to do it.
❖
There are no national frontiers to learning.
The person who goes ahead controls others.
An easily heated thing is easily cooled.
A crying child thrives.
There is no short cut to learning.
❖
He who knows when he has enough is fortunate.
Toil cannot be overtaken by poverty.
Old times are old times, the present is present.
On the road to the other world no one is king.
A country may go to ruin but its mountains and streams remain.
❖
Life is for one generation a good name is forever.
If there is a lid that does not fit there is a lid that does.
Love lives in palaces as well as in thatched cottages.
Give food to the hawk you do not love.
When passionately in love, one becomes stupid.
❖
Love is beyond reflection.
A long life has many shames.
Life in this world consists in mutual helpfulness.
The extreme form of psssionate love is secret love.
If you would bend the tree do it while it is young.
❖
Tall trees, much wind.
It is one life whether we spend it in laughing or weeping.
In this long transitory world life is short.
Don't look above you, rather look below you.
Thistle blossoms last but a moment.
❖
Wealthy persons and spittoons become filthier with accumulation.
A liar is the beginning of a thief.
Good liquor needs no signboard.
In love there are no distinctions between high and low.
Life is light when compared to honor.
❖
A great man does not seize small things.
A man with a changeable spirit is not successful.
Good luck invites many mishaps.
The tippler does not know the poison, the teetotaler the medicine.
The tippler discloses his true character.
❖
For good luck sleep and wait.
Look at the flowers and then break off a branch.
Yesterday's lovely flower is but a dream today.
Good luck comes in at a smiling gate.
To the partial eyes of a lover, pockmarks seem like dimples.
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Japanese Proverbs (001-100)Japanese Proverbs (101-200) Japanese Proverbs (201-300)Japanese Proverbs (301-400)Japanese Proverbs (401-500)Japanese Proverbs (501-536)
