Proverbs
29 phrasesHD
石の上にも三年というが、下積みの三年を経てようやく彼の演奏に深みが出てきた。
ENAs the proverb says, 'perseverance prevails,' and it was only after three years of paying his dues that his playing finally acquired real depth.
HD
石の上にも三年と自らに言い聞かせ、彼女は華々しさとは無縁の基礎研究に黙々と打ち込んだ。
ENTelling herself that 'perseverance prevails,' she threw herself silently into basic research far removed from any glamour.
HD
転職を繰り返す風潮の中、石の上にも三年という価値観はもはや時代遅れだと切り捨てる向きもある。
ENAmid a trend of frequent job-hopping, some dismiss the value of 'sticking it out for three years' as hopelessly outdated.
HD
どんなに理不尽な下働きでも、石の上にも三年、辛抱すればいつか報われると先輩は諭した。
ENNo matter how unreasonable the grunt work, my senior counseled, 'perseverance prevails'—endure it and you'll be rewarded in time.
HD
百戦錬磨の彼が初歩的なミスを犯すとは、まさに猿も木から落ちるとはこのことだ。
ENThat a battle-hardened veteran like him would make such an elementary blunder—this is exactly what 'even monkeys fall from trees' means.
HD
猿も木から落ちるというように、その道の権威ですら時に致命的な判断ミスを免れない。
ENAs 'even monkeys fall from trees' suggests, even an authority in the field is not immune to the occasional fatal error of judgment.
HD
あれほど慎重な弁護士が期日を失念するとは、猿も木から落ちるものだと妙に感心してしまった。
ENThat so meticulous a lawyer could forget a deadline oddly impressed me—truly, 'even monkeys fall from trees.'
HD
猿も木から落ちるとはいえ、一流と称される者の失態は世間の耳目を集めずにはおかない。
ENThough 'even monkeys fall from trees,' a blunder by someone hailed as first-rate cannot help but capture public attention.
HD
急がば回れで、拙速な導入を避け、まずは小規模な実証実験から着実に進めるべきだ。
EN'More haste, less speed'—we should avoid a hasty rollout and proceed steadily, starting with a small-scale pilot.
HD
納期に追われているときこそ、急がば回れの精神で手順を一つひとつ確認したほうが結局は早い。
ENPrecisely when a deadline is bearing down, the 'more haste, less speed' mindset—checking each step one by one—turns out to be faster in the end.
HD
急がば回れというが、基礎を疎かにして応用に走った付けは、後になって必ず回ってくる。
ENThey say 'more haste, less speed': the price of neglecting the fundamentals and rushing to advanced work always comes due later.
HD
目先の効率にとらわれず、急がば回れとばかりに、あえて遠回りな検証プロセスを選んだ。
ENUnbound by short-term efficiency, we deliberately chose a roundabout verification process, in the spirit of 'more haste, less speed.'
HD
一度口にした暴言は覆水盆に返らず、いくら詫びたところで失われた信頼は戻らない。
ENOnce spoken, an abusive word is like spilt water that can't be gathered up—no amount of apology restores the trust that's been lost.
HD
契約書に署名してしまった以上、覆水盆に返らずで、今さら条件の撤回を求めても詮無いことだ。
ENNow that the contract is signed, it's spilt water: demanding a retraction of the terms at this point is utterly futile.
HD
覆水盆に返らずとはいえ、彼はなおも過去の栄光にすがり、破局した関係の修復を諦めきれずにいた。
ENThough it was spilt water, he still clung to his past glory, unable to give up on mending a relationship that had already collapsed.
HD
一時の激情に駆られて放った言葉が、覆水盆に返らぬ結果を招いたことを、彼は生涯悔いた。
ENHe regretted for the rest of his life that words hurled in a moment of passion had brought about consequences as irreversible as spilt water.
HD
二兎を追う者は一兎をも得ずというように、あれもこれもと欲張った企画は結局どれも中途半端に終わった。
ENAs 'he who chases two hares catches neither' warns, the project that greedily reached for this and that ended up half-baked on every front.
HD
学業と起業を同時に成し遂げようとした彼は、二兎を追う者の轍を踏み、いずれも道半ばで頓挫した。
ENTrying to accomplish his studies and a startup at once, he followed in the footsteps of the man chasing two hares, and both foundered halfway.
HD
事業の多角化と称して手を広げすぎれば、二兎を追う者となり、本業の屋台骨すら揺らぎかねない。
ENOverextend in the name of business diversification and you become the man chasing two hares, risking even the very backbone of your core operations.
HD
二兎を追う者は一兎をも得ず、まずは優先順位を明確にし、資源を一点に集中させることが肝要だ。
ENHe who chases two hares catches neither; it's essential first to clarify priorities and concentrate resources on a single point.
HD
備えあれば憂いなしというとおり、平時からの周到な危機管理こそが有事の被害を最小限に食い止める。
ENAs 'forewarned is forearmed' holds, it is precisely thorough crisis management in peacetime that keeps damage to a minimum when disaster strikes.
HD
保険は無駄だと侮る人もいるが、備えあれば憂いなしで、万一の際にその真価が問われる。
ENSome scoff at insurance as a waste, but 'forewarned is forearmed'—its true worth is tested when the unthinkable happens.
HD
備えあれば憂いなしを座右の銘とし、彼は起こりうるあらゆる事態を想定して代替案を練り上げた。
ENTaking 'forewarned is forearmed' as his motto, he anticipated every conceivable scenario and worked out contingency plans for each.
HD
大震災の教訓を風化させぬためにも、備えあれば憂いなしの心構えを社会全体で共有すべきだ。
ENSo that the lessons of the great earthquake are not allowed to fade, society as a whole should share the mindset that 'forewarned is forearmed.'
HD
下積み時代を思えば、石の上にも三年どころか、ここまで来るのに優に十年はかかった。
ENLooking back on my apprentice years, it took a good ten years—not just the proverbial three—to get this far.
HD
彼の失言を責める前に、猿も木から落ちるのだと、自らの慢心を戒めるのが筋だろう。
ENBefore blaming him for a slip of the tongue, the proper course is to recall that 'even monkeys fall from trees' and check one's own complacency.
HD
一攫千金を狙う投資話には、急がば回れ、地道な積立こそ王道だと釘を刺しておいた。
ENRegarding get-rich-quick investment schemes, I made a point of warning that 'more haste, less speed'—steady, methodical saving is the royal road.
HD
理想と現実の双方を追い求めるあまり、二兎を追う者の愚を犯してはならないと自戒している。
ENI keep reminding myself not to commit the folly of the man chasing two hares by pursuing both the ideal and the real at once.
HD
資金繰りが行き詰まってからでは覆水盆に返らず、経営者は常に最悪の事態を織り込んでおくべきだ。
ENOnce the cash flow has dried up it's spilt water; a manager should always factor in the worst-case scenario in advance.
This theme teaches classic Japanese proverbs (ことわざ) as they are actually woven into educated adult speech and writing—advice, commentary, and reflection—rather than as dictionary entries. At the N1 level these sayings carry a formal, sometimes literary weight and are often deployed with concessive nuance or gentle admonition, as in 猿も木から落ちるというように、その道の権威ですら判断ミスを免れない, 急がば回れで、拙速な導入を避けるべきだ, and 一度口にした暴言は覆水盆に返らず. Master them and you can add persuasive, culturally resonant force to arguments about perseverance, caution, regret, and preparedness.