KANAE
077Japanese proverb ことわざ

雨降って地固まる

Ame futte ji katamaru

“After the rain, the ground hardens.”

The meaning

Trials and quarrels, once crossed, often leave the ground firmer than before. What bent and held becomes more solid.

At the origin

A proverb often quoted after a resolved conflict or a crisis overcome.

The characters

  1. 雨 amerain
  2. 降って futtefalls, and
  3. 地
  4. 固まる

The complete word-by-word reading, in KANAE.

In practice

After a dispute, consolidate: say what the crisis taught.

Themes

In the collections · Nanakorobi

Similar proverbs

  1. 225 June rains — facing the swollen river, two houses.
  2. 208 Let the water carry it away.
  3. 006 Dripping water wears through stone.
  4. 135 Plow when it shines, read when it rains.
  5. 162 Gathering the rains of June, how swiftly flows the Mogami.

Related expressions

  1. 192 There is no rain that does not stop.
  2. 295 Yielding neither to the rain, nor to the wind.
  3. 292 Coming out upon Tago Bay, I see: on Fuji's high peak, white, the snow still falling.
  4. 266 Against a crying child and a local lord, no one wins.

See also