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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.
あ
い
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お
か
き
く
け
こ
さ
し
す
せ
そ
た
ち
つ
て
と
な
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ぬ
ね
の
は
ひ
ふ
へ
ほ
ま
み
む
め
も
や
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よ
ら
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る
れ
ろ
わ
あいかわらず
[あいかわらず,
aikawarazu]
same as ever; just like always
挨拶回り
[あいさつまわり,
aisatsu-mawari]
process of visiting all of one’s colleagues or coworkers to say hello
揚げ足を取る
[あげあしをとる,
ageashi o toru]
trip up somebody
顎を出す
[あごをだす,
ago o dasu]
give up; give in
朝飯前
[あさめしまえ,
asameshi-mae]
easy as pie; piece of cake; simple
足が遅い
[あしがおそい,
ashi ga osoi]
be slow; be a slow walker; be slow on one’s feet
足がつく
[あしがつく,
ashi ga tsuku]
leave tracks
足が遠退く
[あしがとおのく,
ashi ga toonoku]
be far away; keep away; visit less often
足が速い
[あしがはやい,
ashi ga hayai]
be fast; be a fast walker; be fast on one’s feet
足が速める
[あしがはやめる,
ashi ga hayameru]
pick up the pace; walk faster
足でまとい
[あしでまとい,
ashi de matoi]
a drag; a person who is a burden
足止めをする
[あしどめをする,
ashidome o suru]
slow down; stop
足取りをする
[あしどりをする,
ashidori o suru]
trip someone up
足並みをそろえて
[あしなみをそろえて,
ashinami o soroete]
cooperate
脛に傷
[すねにきず,
sune ni kizu]
have a guilty conscience
足元に付け込む
[あしもとにつけこむ,
ashimoto ni tsukekomu]
have a person at a disadvantage
足元の明るいうちに
[あしもとのあかるいうちに,
ashimoto no akarui uchi ni]
a thing should be done before it is too late
足を洗う
[あしをあらう,
ashi o arau]
go straight; become a decent person; turn over a new leaf
足を奪われる
[あしをうばわれる,
ashi o ubawareru]
be deprived of
足を出す
[あしをだす,
ashi o dasu]
reveal a secret; let the cat out of the bag
頭がいい
[あたまがいい,
atama ga ii]
be smart; be quick
頭数
[あたまかず,
atama-kazu]
headcount; number of persons
頭株
[あたまかぶ,
atama-kabu]
leader, chief, head, executive
頭が悪い
[あたまがわるい,
atama ga warui]
be dumb; be slow
頭におく
[あたまにおく,
atama ni oku]
take under consideration
頭にくる
[あたまにくる,
atama ni kuru]
be angry; become angry; get pissed
頭の回転が遅い
[あたまのかいてんがおそい,
atama no kaiten ga osoi]
be slow; be slow on the uptake; be dull or dimwitted
頭の回転が速い
[あたまのかいてんがはやい,
atama no kaiten ga hayai]
be quick; be quick on the update; be sharp
頭割り
[あたまわり,
atama-wari]
sharing expenses
頭を抑える
[あたまをおさえる,
atama o osaeru]
keep under one’s thumb; keep someone under control; restrain somone
頭を刈る
[あたまをかる,
atama o karu]
have one’s hair cut
頭をはねる
[あたまをはねる,
atama o haneru]
take money on the side; be on the take
頭をもたげる
[あたまをもたげる,
atama o motageru]
rise into prominence
後の祭り
[あとのまつり,
ato no matsuri]
it’s too late; a day late and a dollar short
後よろしく
[あとよろしく,
ato yoroshiku]
hold the fort; take care of
後を絶たない
[あとをたたない,
ato o tatanai]
endless
危ない橋を渡る
[あぶないはしをわたる,
abunai hashi o wataru]
take risks; take a risk
油を売る
[あぶらをうる,
abura o uru]
idle one’s time away; loaf; dawdle
油をかける
[あぶらをかける,
abura o kakeru]
egg on a person; instigate
油を絞る
[あぶらをしぼる,
abura o shiboru]
tell someone off; scold; rebuke
油を乗る
[あぶらをのる,
abura o noru]
warm up to a subject; be interested
あほの話食い
[あほのはなしぐい,
aho no hanashi-gui]
an idiot will believe anything; an idiot will swallow anything
天下り
[あまくだり,
ama-kudari]
the practice of bureaucrats finding high-ranking jobs in private firms after retirement
蟻の這い出る隙もない
[ありのはいでるすきもない,
ari no haideru sukima mo nai]
there isn’t even space for an ant to go through
アルサロ
[あるさろ,
aru-saro]
a salon where the hostesses are supposedly part-time employees with other jobs
あんぐり口を開けて
[あんぐりくちをあけて,
anguri kuchi o akete]
with the mouth wide open, agape
暗黙の承認
[あんもくのしょうにん,
anmoku no shounin]
tacit approval; silent approval