285Japanese maxim 格言
一寸の光陰軽んずべからず
いっすんのこういんかろんずべからずIssun no kōin karonzubekarazu
“Do not count an inch of time as nothing.”
The meaning
The minutes judged too short to matter make, laid end to end, the years we regret. Honoring the small fragments of time is honoring one's whole life.
At the origin
A line from a poem of exhortation to study, traditionally attributed to Zhu Xi — a debated attribution.
The characters
- 一寸 issunone inch
- の noof (link)
- 光陰
- 軽んず
- べからず
のParticleLinks two words: possession or belonging, like “of”.
In practice
Give a chosen use to your next ten "lost" minutes.
Editorial note
Attributed to Zhu Xi; debated attribution.