レッスン詳細

動物にまつわることわざを言おう

Talking about animals
動物にまつわることわざについて海外の友人と話してみよう。
「犬も歩けば棒に当たる」「猫に小判」など、動物に関することわざを英語で説明してみましょう。あなたの好きなことわざは何ですか？
Do you know any proverbs about animals?
 
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Do you know any proverbs about animals?

Yes, there are some famous proverbs and this is one of my favorites.
"If the dog walks, it will hit the stick."
It means that if you take action, you can experience both good and bad. This gives me courage. I always remember this saying when I try something new. However, I was surprised to learn the original meaning of this saying. "When the dog wanders around, he is beaten with a stick." It means "Don't take extra action so that you don't suffer disaster." This is exactly the opposite of what I knew.

自然な表現

Yes, there are some famous proverbs and this is one of my favorites.
"If the dog walks, it will hit the stick."
It means that if you take action, you can experience both good and bad. This gives me courage. I always remember this saying when I try something new. However, I was surprised to learn the original meaning of this saying. "When the dog wanders around, he is beaten with a stick." It means "Don't take extra action so that you don't suffer disaster." This is exactly the opposite of what I knew.

1. The meaning can also be " if you are too nosy, you could get into trouble."
That is really interesting. Thank you for your thorough explanation. Please feel free to write as many proverbs as you want.

Like dogs, cats are very popular in Japan as pets. Also, cats as characters are very popular these days. Many sweets in the shape of cats and paws are also on sale. Here are two sayings about cats. One is "Give a gold coin to a cat." It is an analogy that it is useless to give something expensive to someone who does not know its value. The other is "I need a cat's paws." Can you guess what it means? It means that I'm so busy that anyone can help me.

自然な表現

Like dogs, cats are very popular in Japan as pets. Also, cats as characters are very popular these days. Many sweets in the shape of cats and paws are also on sale. Here are two sayings about cats. One is "Give a gold coin to a cat." It is an analogy that it is useless to give something expensive to someone who does not know its value. The other is "I need a cat's paws." Can you guess what it means? It means that I'm so busy that anyone can help me.

1. You can also use "worthless" here.
Interesting. I have learned a lot about the meaning of those proverbs. Please feel free to continue.

There is a river called Hirose River in my city. Every year, swans spend the winter here and leave for spring. I've never seen the moment of their departure, but it must be impressive. It reminds me of this proverb; "Birds do not muddy the water when they take off." It means "Clean up before you leave." This is also my mother's habit. She always keeps her room tidy before going out. This proverb also has deep meaning. It's a beautiful retirement that doesn't bother others. I think this is the ideal way of life for Japanese people.

自然な表現

There is a river called the Hirose River in my city. Every year, swans spend the winter here and leave for spring. I've never seen    their departure, but it must be impressive. It reminds me of this proverb; "Birds do not muddy the water when they take off." It means "Clean up before you leave." This is also my mother's habit. She always keeps her room tidy before going out. This proverb also has deep meaning. It's a beautiful retirement that doesn't bother others. I think this is the ideal way of life for Japanese people.

1. Add the article when talking about something specific.
2. You can choose to remove the phrase, it's not necessary.
Oh, I see. That's an interesting proverb. I liked how you explained and related it to different scenarios. Please continue.

Next saying is this; "Monkeys also fall from trees." Monkeys are good at climbing trees, but sometimes they accidentally fall. That means that even some expert can fail. When I was a kid, I used to play on the horizontal bars and monkey bars. One of my friends was very good at it and I was always practicing by imitating her. One day, however, she slipped off the escalade and fell. The reason is that we were chatting and laughing while we were playing on the monkey bars. I'm sure we looked like little monkeys.

自然な表現

The next saying is; "Monkeys also fall from trees." Monkeys are good at climbing trees, but sometimes they accidentally fall. That means that even some experts can fail. When I was a kid, I used to play on the horizontal bars and monkey bars. One of my friends was very good at it and I was always practicing by imitating her. One day, however, she slipped off the escalade and fell. The reason is that we were chatting and laughing while we were playing on the monkey bars. I'm sure we looked like little monkeys.

1. This is a better way of introducing the saying.
2. Use plurals when talking about things in general.
That's an interesting proverb. We need to acknowledge that learning doesn't stop. Do you know any other proverb?

The last proverb is "Ningen banji Sai-oh ga uma." It says everything that happens to humans is the same as the story of the old man's horse. That means fortune is unpredictable and changeable. Many people cherish this saying as an inscription. I found some English expressions with similar meanings and these two are my favorites; "A joyful evening may follow a sorrowful morning." and "Every cloud has a silver lining."

自然な表現

The last proverb is "Ningen banji Sai-oh ga uma." It says everything that happens to humans is the same as the story of the old man's horse. That means fortune is unpredictable and changeable. Many people cherish this saying as an inscription. I found some English expressions with similar meanings and these two are my favorites; "A joyful evening may follow a sorrowful morning." and "Every cloud has a silver lining."

1. You could also use "caption" here.

関連単語

  • fowl（家禽、鳥類）
  • insect（昆虫）
  • kingdom（王国、～界）
  • reptile（爬虫類）
  • species（（生物学の）種、人種）
  • mammal（哺乳類）
  • amphibian（両生類、水陸両用）
  • metamorphosis（（魔力による）変質、変形）
  • roar（大声で叫ぶ、どなる、（ライオンなどが）ほえる）
  • foul（汚す、〔名誉などを〕汚す）

関連フレーズ

  • "Never try to catch two frogs with one hand."（2匹の蛙を片手で捕ろうとするな（二兎を追う者は一兎をも得ず））
  • "Never scratch a tiger with a short stick."（虎を短い棒で決して引っ掻かないように）
  • "Don't think there are no crocodiles because the water's calm."（水面が穏やかだからといってワニがいないと思わないように（油断大敵））
  • "The fish that got away is always bigger."（逃がした魚は大きい）
  • "A roaring lion kills no game."（吠えるライオンは獲物を殺さない。（弱い犬ほどよく吠える））
  • "Hunger will lead a fox out of the forest."（飢えで狐は森から出てくる）
  • "Even monkeys sometimes fall from trees."（猿も木から落ちる）
  • "It is a dirty bird that fouls its own nest."（家名を汚す不孝者）
  • "A fine cage won't feed the bird."（よくできた鳥かごは餌付けしない）
  • "This is a case of a dog biting the hand that feeds it."（飼い犬に手をかまれるとはこの事だ）

こんな方にオススメ

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  • 上級
  • その他
  • ことわざの話