KANAE
278Japanese proverb ことわざ

頭の上の蠅を追え

Atama no ue no hae o oe

“First chase the flies above your own head.”

The meaning

Before correcting the world, correct your own perimeter. The proverb recalls the order of works: other people's flies can wait.

At the origin

A blunt proverb against easy criticism of others.

The characters

  1. 頭 atamahead
  2. の noof (link)
  3. 上 ueabove
  4. の
  5. 蠅
  6. を
  7. 追え

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

ParticleLinks two words: possession or belonging, like “of”.

In practice

The fault you were about to point out in another: check it in yourself first.

Themes

Similar proverbs

  1. 149 Too many boatmen pull the boat up the mountain.
  2. 040 He who chases two hares catches neither.
  3. 246 Dragon's head, snake's tail.
  4. 001 Even a stone grows warm if you sit on it for three years.
  5. 011 Even skilled hands let water slip through.

Related expressions

  1. 030 The riper the rice ear, the lower it bows its head.
  2. 142 Hiding the head but not the rear.
  3. 231 Cockscombs — there must be fourteen, maybe fifteen.
  4. 266 Against a crying child and a local lord, no one wins.

See also