from Hacker News

Guide to Japanese Idioms

by agarttha on 1/8/25, 7:24 PM with 2 comments

  • by tmtvl on 1/8/25, 8:26 PM

    There are two Japanese idioms I really like:

    1. Kawara wa migaite mo tama ni naranu, no matter how much you polish a roof tile it won't become a gemstone.

    2. Kawara mo migakeba nara tama to naru, if you polish it enough even a roof tile will become a gemstone.

    I just like having those two contradictions.