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Japanese Idioms
The Japanese language is filled with idioms of all sorts, from classical references from ancient Chinese to modern colloquialisms used by college students and young salaryman. Whether you are traveling to Japan for fun or on business, or are living there, you'll find idioms indispensible to understanding and using the daily language. Browse below to find the ones you want or simply explore the many possible ways to express yourself in Japanese.
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迷宮入り
[めいきゅういり, meikyuu-iri] deadend, unsolved, unanswered, unresolved
目上
[めうえ, me-ue] a superior; a senior; someone above you in a hierarchy
目移りする
[めうつりする, me-utsuri suru] be embarrased or confused by many choices
目がある
[めがある, me ga aru] be careful; be attentive
目が多い
[めがおおい, me ga ooi] many people are looking, watching
目が遅い
[めがおそい, me ga osoi] be slow to understand; be slow on the uptake
目が肥える
[めがこえる, me ga koeru] have a trained eye; have a good eye
目頭が熱くなる
[めがしらがあつくなる, megashira ga atsuku naru] warm tears well up in one's eyes
目が少ない
[めがすくない, me ga sukunai] few people are present
目がすわる
[めがすわる, me ga sawaru] eyes are fixed
目が高い
[めがたかい, me ga takai] have advanced views; have lofty ideas
目が近い
[めがちかい, me ga chikai] be short-sighted
目が散る
[めがちる, me ga chiru] one’s glance is distracted
目がつく
[めがつく, me ga tsuku] look at carefully
目がつぶる
[めがつぶる, me ga tsuburu] sleep; die; shut one’s eyes
目がつぶれる
[めがつぶれる, me ga tsubureru] become blind
目が出る
[めがでる, me ga deru] be lucky; have good luck
目が遠い
[めがとおい, me ga tooi] be farsighted; have lofty ideas
目が届く
[めがとどく, me ga todoku] meet
目がとまる
[めがとまる, me ga tomaru] pay heed
目がない
[めがない, me ga nai] have a weakness for
目が速い
[めがはやい, me ga hayai] understand quickly; be a quick study
目が増える
[めがふえる, me ga fueru] the number of people
目から鼻へ抜ける
[めからはなへぬける, me gara hana e nukeru] do something quickly and cleverly
盲の垣覗き
[めくらのかきのぞき, mekura no kaki-nozoki] do something useless
盲のまぐれ当り
[めくらのまぐれあたり, mekura no magure-atari] lucky shot
目先
[めさき, mesaki] before one’s eyes; under one’s nose
目先の変わった
[めさきのかわった, mesaki no kawatta] new, novel
目先を変える
[めさきをかえる, mesaki o kaeru] do something new or different
目下
[めした, meshita] an inferior, subordinate; someone below you in a hierarchy
目印
[めじるし, mejirushi] sign, landmark
目立ちたがり
[めだちたがり, medachitagari] someone who wants to be the center of the attention have the limelight (lit.: wanting to have attention stand out)
目玉
[めだま, medama] top seller
目と鼻の間
[めとはなのあいだ, me to hana no aida] very close
目に浮かぶ
[めにうかぶ, me ni ukabu] remember
目に角を立てる
[めにかどをたてる, me ni kado o tateru] be angry
目に触る
[めにさわる, me ni sawaru] be a nuisance; be in the way
目にとめる
[めにとめる, me ni tomeru] observe with care; keep an eye on
目に残る
[めにのこる, me ni nokoru] linger in one’s memory
目には目を、歯には歯を
[めにはめを、はにははを, me niwa me, ha niwa ha] an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
目の上のこぶ
[めのうえのこぶ, me no use no kobu] an eyesore; something that is in the way
目の上のたんこぶ
[めのうえのたんこぶ, me no ue no tankobu] constant hindrance; thorn in one’s side (lit.: bump above the eye)
目の薬
[めのくすり, me no kusuri] a little bit; only a little
目の覚める
[めのさめる, me no sameru] bright, vivid
目の正月
[めのしょうがつ, me no shougatsu] a feast for the eyes
目の毒
[めのどく, me no doku] something that shouldn’t be seen; a temptation
目は口ほどものを言う
[めはくちほどものをいう, me wa kuchi hodo mono o iu] the eyes say as much as the mouth does
目星
[めぼし, meboshi] aim, objective, mark
目を奪う
[めをうばう, me o ubau] be too beautiful to look at
目をかける
[めをかける, me o kakeru] be kind to
目を覚ます
[めをさます, me o samasu] awaken; become enlightened
目を三角にする
[めをさんかくにする, me o sankaku ni suru] be angry
目をつける
[めをつける, me o tsukeru] notice; catch onto; direct one’s attention
目を通す
[めをとおす, me o toosu] scan; read rapidly; pass one’s eyes over
目を盗む
[めをぬすむ, me o nusumu] do something stealthily
目を引く
[めをひく, me o hiku] draw one’s attention; catch one’s eye
目を丸くする
[めをまるくする, me o maruku suru] be astonished, surprised, or angry
目を回す
[めをまわす, me o mawasu] be very busy; lose consciousness
目をやる
[めをやる, me o yaru] look towards
面目を失う
[めんぼくをうしなう, menboku o ushinau] disgrace oneself; suffer a let-down
面目を施す
[めんぼくをほどこす, menboku o hodokosu] do honor to oneself