Japanese Proverbs Featuring Cats
Being both a cat lover and a student of language, I found this list of cat proverbs interesting. (source nippon.com)
猫に小判 — Neko ni koban. The koban was a gold coin in the Edo period (1603–1868), and “giving koban to a cat” means providing something to someone who does not understand or appreciate its value, and thereby cannot benefit from it.
猫に鰹節 — Neko ni katsuobushi. katsuobushi are dried bonito (fish) flakes. This phrase, meaning “placing katsuobushi alongside a cat,” imagines placing the tempting fishy treat next to the animal, and represents a dangerous situation or one where a high level of vigilance is needed.
猫の手も借りたい — Neko no te mo karitai. To say that one “even wants to borrow a cat’s paws,” despite knowing this feline companion is not going to help out very much, is a way of describing how extremely busy one is.
猫の額 — Neko no hitai. A “cat’s forehead” is used to refer to something that is extremely small, such as, commonly, a garden or plot of land.
猫をかぶる — Neko o kaburu. To metaphorically “put on a cat” or act like the animal is to pretend to be quiet and harmless, hiding one’s true nature. It also describes someone putting on an air of innocence.
猫も杓子も — Neko mo shakushi mo. When saying that all kinds of people were present at an event, one English phrase is “Every Tom, Dick, and Harry.” The Japanese equivalent is to say that “even cats and ladles” were there.
Do you know any cat proverbs or sayings in any other language?
4 comments:
Interesting! I like the idea of the cat's forehead for a tiny bit of land. Giving a cat a gold coin expresses the same idea as casting pearls before swine. "Even cats and ladles" is similar to "everyone and his dog". I can't really think of an English equivalent of wanting to borrow the cat's paws though.
Interesting read, I don't know any cat proverbs.
There were many examples that I have never heard of and one I have misunderstood until now. Neko ni koban. I thought it referred to a police box and not a coin! Thank you for teaching me Japanese, Miss Pamela.
What about these in English, and Swedish:
A cat always lands on its feet.
He's like a cat on a hot tin roof.
When the cat's away, the mice play.
A lesson in life order: cats use trees to climb up to and the fire brigade to get down.
It's raining cats and dogs.
In the dark, all cats are grey.
A home without a cat is just a house.
There are lots of such sayings in Norwegian and Danish, too. Unfortunately, they play on sound and can not easily be translated into English.
Here is an example: 'We must have misunderstood!' said the cats waiting outside the cap factory. Cap factory is called mössfabrik, möss also means mice. So the cats were waiting in vain outside the factory where caps are made, in the belief it was a factory where mice are mass-produced.
Those are fun, I especially like the one about borrowing the cat's paws!
In German, we have a couple to:
to buy the cat in the sack - to buy something unseen
to let the cat out of the sack - to spill a secret
to be for the cat - to be in vain
just a cat's leap away - close by
When the cat is out of the house, the mice are dancing on the table - if the boss isn't around, everyone does as they want to
The cat can't stop hunting mice - old habits die hard
to sit at the cat's table - to sit away from everyone else
The cat bites its tail - something just goes on in circles
to play cat and mouse with someone - to leave someone in the dark
to have a tomcat - to be hungover
to be a snack cat - someone who likes sweets
At night all cats are gray - things can't be distinguished under certain circumstances
to step like the cat around the hot porridge - to not tackle the real issue
cat's wash - to wash oneself quickly and with minimal use of water
Hope you had fun with these!
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