KANAE
269Japanese proverb ことわざ

花は折りたし梢は高し

Hana wa oritashi kozue wa takashi

“One longs to pick the flower, but the branch is high.”

The meaning

The desire is there, and so is the obstacle. The proverb does not decide — it photographs the moment before: give up, or find the ladder?

At the origin

A classic proverb of thwarted desire.

The characters

  1. 花 hanaflower
  2. は watopic marker
  3. 折りたし oritashilonging to pick
  4. 梢
  5. は
  6. 高し

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

ParticleMarks the topic: what the sentence is about — “as for…”.

In practice

For the too-high flower you long for: look for the ladder before giving up.

Themes

Similar proverbs

  1. 262 The flower on the high peak.
  2. 020 Dumplings over flowers.
  3. 059 Not saying is the flower.
  4. 111 Should we look at blossoms only in full bloom, at the moon only when it is clear?
  5. 115 The neighbor's flowers are redder.

Related expressions

  1. 101 Over the moon, gathering clouds; over blossoms, wind.
  2. 136 Flowers, birds, wind, moon.
  3. 168 Field of rapeseed — the moon in the east, the sun in the west.
  4. 175 Blossoms last seven days.

See also