2025 Year of the Snake

2025 is the year of the snake, the sixth symbol of the Japanese zodiac. People born in the year of the snake are said to be deep thinkers, great observers, and possessors of tremendous wisdom. They are also said to have the tendency to avoid conflict and are the jealous type. Snakes are most compatible with oxen and roosters, have a mutually beneficial relationship with monkeys, and are least compatible with boars.  Or that’s the legend.

Here are some Japanese snake sayings - 

竜頭蛇尾—Ryūtō dabi. “Dragon head, snake tail” describes something that initially appears wonderful or amazing, but ends disappointingly.
蛇に睨まれた蛙—Hebi ni niramareta kaeru. “A frog being stared at by a snake” refers to a state of being frozen in terror, similar to the phrase “a deer in the headlights” in English.
蛇に噛まれて朽縄におじる—Hebi ni kamarete kuchinawa ni ojiru. Making a mistake once may lead to excessive caution in future attempts, as seen in the expression “being bitten by a snake and fearing a rotted rope.” An English equivalent is “once bitten, twice shy.”
藪をつついて蛇を出す—Yabu o tsutsuite hebi o dasu. “Poking a bush and forcing out a snake” means to bring trouble on oneself through an unnecessary action. In current Japanese, it is often heard in the shortened form yabuhebi.
蛇足—Dasoku. In a contest to draw a snake quickly in ancient China, the first person to finish was so far ahead of the others that he added on some legs, and ended up losing. The phrase “snake legs,” derived from the story, now means something redundant, or a pointless side track in a conversation.

Happy New Year from Japan!