Japanese-English Sayings & Proverbs

意思のある所には道がある。

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

口で言うほど簡単ではない。

Easier said than done.

隣の芝生は青く見える。

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

まるで瓜二つだ。

They’re like two peas in a pod.

歳月人を待たず。

Time and tide wait for no one.

郷に入っては郷に従え。

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

鉄は熱いうちに打て。

Strike while the iron’s hot.

自分の蒔いた種。

You reap as you sow.

一石二鳥。

Kill two birds with one stone.

獲らぬ狸の皮算用。

Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched.

必要は発明の母。

Necessity is the mother of invention.

豚に真珠。

Cast pearls before swine.

急がば回れ。

Haste makes waste.

出る杭は打たれる。

The upraised nail gets hammered down.

柔能く剛を制す。

Soft and fair goes far.

色即是空。

All is vanity.

氏より育ち。

Birth is much, breeding is more.

知らぬが仏。

Ignorance is bliss.

去る者は日々に疎し。

Out of sight, out of mind.

継続は力なり。

Perseverance is power.