Idiom and Slang

Japanese Grammar 4

Course 4 · Chapter 11 · Idiom and Slang

🎏 Idiom, Proverbs and Spoken Japanese — いでぃおむ・ぞくご

The last layer of real Japanese is the one grammar books skip: ready-made phrases. A speaker reaches for a four-character idiom to sum up a situation, a proverb to give advice, a body-word expression to describe a feeling, and a handful of contractions and slang words to sound natural with friends. None of it is hard grammar, but all of it must be learned as a whole phrase.

The rule in one box 四字熟語(よじじゅくご) are four-kanji idioms; read them as one unit. ことわざ are proverbs, often quoted in part. Body-word idioms (手, 目, 口, 耳, 足, 顔, 腹) turn a body part into a feeling or an action. Spoken contractions (〜ちゃう, 〜てる, 〜じゃん) and slang are for friends, never for writing or formal speech. Dialects change the endings and some words but follow the same logic.

1. 四字熟語 (four-character idioms)

Idiom	Reading	Meaning
一石二鳥	いっせきにちょう	two birds with one stone
以心伝心	いしんでんしん	understanding without words
十人十色	じゅうにんといろ	ten people, ten colours: everyone is different
一期一会	いちごいちえ	once-in-a-lifetime meeting; treasure each encounter
自業自得	じごうじとく	you reap what you sow
温故知新	おんこちしん	learn new things from the old
異口同音	いくどうおん	with one voice
臨機応変	りんきおうへん	adapting to circumstances
日進月歩	にっしんげっぽ	advancing day by day
七転八起	しちてんはっき	fall seven times, get up eight

Use them as nouns or with の / な / する as appropriate: 十人十色だから、いろいろなかんがえがある。いっせきにちょうのほうほう。

2. ことわざ (proverbs)

Proverb	Meaning
猿も木から落ちるさるもきからおちる	Even experts make mistakes (even monkeys fall from trees).
急がば回れいそがばまわれ	More haste, less speed: the safe road is the quicker.
石の上にも三年いしのうえにもさんねん	Perseverance pays (even a stone gets warm after three years).
花より団子はなよりだんご	Substance over show (dumplings over flowers).
百聞は一見にしかずひゃくぶんはいっけんにしかず	Seeing once beats hearing a hundred times.
失敗は成功のもとしっぱいはせいこうのもと	Failure is the mother of success.
塵も積もれば山となるちりもつもればやまとなる	Many a little makes a mickle (dust piled up becomes a mountain).
案ずるより産むが易しあんずるよりうむがやすし	It is easier done than feared.

Watch out: proverbs keep old grammar Many proverbs keep classical endings: 急がば回れ (the old ば conditional and a command), しかず (the old negative of しく, "does not equal"), やすし (an old adjective ending). You do not need to analyse them; learn the whole phrase. Speakers often quote only the first half, expecting the listener to finish it.

3. Body-word expressions

Expression	Literal	Meaning
手が足りない	hands are insufficient	short-handed
手を焼く	burn one's hands	have trouble with
目が高い	high eyes	have a good eye for quality
目がない	have no eyes	have a weakness for (あまいものにめがない)
口が軽い / 堅い	light / hard mouth	talkative, a gossip / discreet
耳が痛い	the ear hurts	hard to hear because it is true
顔が広い	wide face	well connected
足を引っ張る	pull the legs	hold someone back
腹が立つ	the stomach stands up	get angry
鼻が高い	high nose	proud (of someone's success)
頭が上がらない	cannot raise the head	cannot stand up to someone (out of debt or respect)
骨が折れる	bones break	be laborious

4. Spoken contractions

Full	Spoken	Example
〜ている	〜てる	なにしてるの?
〜てしまう	〜ちゃう	わすれちゃった。
〜ておく	〜とく	かっておく → かっとく
〜ては / 〜では	〜ちゃ / 〜じゃ	いっちゃだめ。 / よんじゃだめ。
〜なければ	〜なきゃ	いかなきゃ。
〜という	〜って	たなかさんってひと。
〜じゃないか	〜じゃん	いいじゃん。
です (masc. casual)	〜っす	おつかれっす。

A few slang words

Word	Meaning
やばい	terrible, or amazing, depending on context
めっちゃ	very (originally Kansai, now general)
マジで	seriously, really
ていうか	I mean, or rather

Watch out: know who you are talking to 〜ちゃう, 〜じゃん, 〜っす and slang are fine among friends and colleagues of the same standing. Used to a customer or a superior they sound careless. A good rule: recognise everything, but produce the neutral forms in public. 〜ちゃう and 〜てる are the safest to use; 〜っす and slang are best left to those who already know the speaker.

5. Regional speech in outline

Standard Japanese (標準語(ひょうじゅんご)) is based on the Tokyo speech of educated speakers. Everywhere else has a local variety, and some are widely heard because of television.

Area	Examples	Standard
Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto)	おおきに; ほんま; あかん; なんでやねん; いかへん	ありがとう; ほんとう; だめ; どうして; いかない
Hakata (Fukuoka)	〜ばい / 〜たい	sentence endings, like よ
Tohoku (north-east)	distinctive vowels and a gentle, slow rhythm	—

For a learner the practical advice is the same: understand when you hear it, and speak standard Japanese.

🗣️ In Use — つかいかた

Phrases in their natural homes.

① A proverb as advice

A: しけんにおちてしまいました。 I failed the exam.

B: しっぱいはせいこうのもとといいますよ。つぎはきっとうまくいきます。 They say failure is the mother of success. Next time you'll surely do well.

② A body idiom

A: こどもたちにはほんとうにてをやいています。 The children are really a handful.

B: たいへんですね。でも、あとすこしのしんぼうですよ。 That's hard. But just a little more patience.

③ Between friends

A: もうこんなじかん! かえらなきゃ。 Look at the time! I have to go home.

B: えっ、まだいいじゃん。でも、わすれものはしないでね。 Oh, come on, it's early. But don't forget anything.

📋 Quick Reference

Kind	Remember
四字熟語	Learn as one unit: 一石二鳥, 十人十色, 一期一会, 臨機応変
ことわざ	Often keep classical grammar; often quoted in part
Body idioms	手, 目, 口, 耳, 足, 顔, 腹: literal image, figurative meaning
Contractions	〜てる, 〜ちゃう, 〜とく, 〜なきゃ, 〜じゃん
Slang	やばい, めっちゃ, マジで: friends only
Regional	Kansai, Hakata, Tohoku: understand, but speak standard Japanese

✍️ Practice — れんしゅう

Try each one, then click to check.

1. Read and explain: 十人十色

Show answer

じゅうにんといろ: everyone is different.

2. Which idiom means "two birds with one stone"?

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一石二鳥(いっせきにちょう)

3. Complete the proverb: 猿も（　）からおちる

Show answer

木(き): even monkeys fall from trees.

4. Which proverb says "seeing is believing"?

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百聞は一見にしかず

5. What does 耳が痛い mean?

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Hard to hear, because the criticism is true.

6. Say "I have a weakness for sweets" with a body idiom.

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あまいものにめがない。

7. Make this casual: わすれてしまいました。

Show answer

わすれちゃった。

8. Make this casual: いかなければならない。

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いかなきゃ。

9. In Kansai speech, what does あかん mean?

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"No good, won't do" (standard だめ).

10. Why should a learner avoid 〜っす with a customer?

Show answer

It is a casual, masculine-leaning register, too relaxed for a customer or a superior. Use です / ます.

Coming up in Chapter 12: Putting It Together. The whole four-course grammar track on one map, an error-spotting clinic, and the Course Complete recap with a pointer to the next step.