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1789 entries
Japanese proverbs (ことわざ), four-character idioms (四字熟語), and idioms — from JMdict.
Proverbs
Four-character idioms
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余韻嫋々
よいんじょうじょう
(sound) lingering in the air; trailing notes (of a bell, etc.)
佳人薄命
かじんはくめい
beauties die young; beauty and luck seldom go together
侃侃諤諤
かんかんがくがく
outspoken; arguing (heatedly) what one believes in; insisting on something without restraint
依怙贔屓
えこひいき
favoritism; favouritism; partiality; prejudice; bias
俗臭芬々
ぞくしゅうふんぷん
vulgar; coarse; lacking in class
俗談平話
ぞくだんへいわ
conversation on worldly affairs; chat about everyday life (business)
保革伯仲
ほかくはくちゅう
conservatives and reformists being neck and neck; balanced conservative and progressive strengths
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信賞必罰
しんしょうひつばつ
rewards and punishments; rewarding good conduct and punishing evildoing
俯仰天地
ふぎょうてんち
looking up and down, from heaven to earth (having nothing to be ashamed of); swearing by Heaven and Earth (having done nothing to be ashamed of)
個々別々
ここべつべつ
each one separately
借花献仏
しゃっかけんぶつ
winning favor or influence using someone else's property; plagiarism; presenting the Buddha with borrowed flowers
偏旁冠脚
へんぼうかんきゃく
radicals of a kanji (left, right, crown and lower); kanji components
偕老同穴
かいろうどうけつ
happy life partnership; living faithfully together till death
偶像崇拝
ぐうぞうすうはい
idolatry; idol worship
偽装工作
ぎそうこうさく
diversionary tactics (maneuvering); disguise; hide by camouflage
傀儡政権
かいらいせいけん
puppet government; puppet regime
傍若無人
ぼうじゃくぶじん
behaving outrageously as though there were no one around; acting without consideration for others; arrogance; audacity; insolence
傲岸不遜
ごうがんふそん
haughty arrogance
傲岸無礼
ごうがんぶれい
arrogance
傲慢不遜
ごうまんふそん
haughty; arrogant; overbearing
傲慢無礼
ごうまんぶれい
(arrogance and) insolence
傷弓の鳥
しょうきゅうのとり
(person who is) once bitten twice shy; someone who has become overly cautious due to a bad experience
傾国傾城
けいこくけいせい
woman so glamorous as to bring ruin to a country (castle) as its king (lord) is captivated by her beauty; femme fatale
傾城傾国
けいせいけいこく
woman so glamorous as to bring ruin to a country (castle) as its king (lord) is captivated by her beauty; femme fatale
優勝劣敗
ゆうしょうれっぱい
survival of the fittest
允文允武
いんぶんいんぶ
being versed in the literary and military arts
元気はつらつ
げんきはつらつ
full of energy; full of liveliness; full of pep
先制攻撃
せんせいこうげき
preemptive strike; preemptive attack; first strike
先刻承知
せんこくしょうち
being already (well) aware
先憂後楽
せんゆうこうらく
worrying before one's people worry, enjoying oneself only after one's people have enjoyed themselves (a precept to be observed by a ruler)
先手必勝
せんてひっしょう
victory goes to the one who makes the first move; being quick to take action leads to victory; the early bird gets the worm
先祖伝来
せんぞでんらい
inherited; family (heirloom); ancestral
光彩陸離
こうさいりくり
dazzling; brilliant
光風霽月
こうふうせいげつ
serenity
克己復礼
こっきふくれい
exercising self-restraint and conforming to the rules of etiquette and formality
免許皆伝
めんきょかいでん
possessing full mastery of an art (e.g. Judo); initiation into the secrets (e.g. of an art); full mastership
兎角亀毛
とかくきもう
things that do not exist; horns on rabbits, fur on turtles
党利党略
とうりとうりゃく
party political interests; partisan politics
党同伐異
とうどうばつい
narrow partisanship
全力投球
ぜんりょくとうきゅう
using all of one's strength (to); giving (it) everything one has got; going full-out
全知全能
ぜんちぜんのう
omniscience and omnipotence
全身全霊
ぜんしんぜんれい
complete devotion; body and soul; one's best
八大地獄
はちだいじごく
The Eight Greater Hells
八方美人
はっぽうびじん
everybody's friend; people pleaser; person who is affable to everybody; flunky; flawlessly beautiful woman; flawless beauty
八月大名
はちがつだいみょう
the 8th month (of the lunar calendar) is the quietest for farmers
八紘一宇
はっこういちう
universal brotherhood; all eight corners of the world under one roof
八面六臂
はちめんろっぴ
competent in all fields; jack of all trades; very active in many fields; versatile; all-round; 8 faces and 6 arms
八面玲瓏
はちめんれいろう
beautiful from all sides; perfect serenity; affability
公平無私
こうへいむし
impartiality; fair play
公明正大
こうめいせいだい
fair; just and upright; open and honest; aboveboard; honourable