088Japanese proverb ことわざ
聞くは一時の恥、聞かぬは一生の恥
きくはいっときのはじ、きかぬはいっしょうのはじKiku wa ittoki no haji, kikanu wa isshō no haji
“To ask is a moment's shame; not to ask is a lifetime's shame.”
The meaning
The embarrassment of asking lasts a minute; maintained ignorance lasts years. Daring to ask is the most profitable of humilities.
At the origin
A proverb quoted in Japanese schools and workshops.
The characters
- 聞く kikuto ask
- は watopic marker
- 一時 ittokia moment
- の
- 恥
- 、
- 聞かぬ
- は
- 一生
- の
- 恥
はParticleMarks the topic: what the sentence is about — “as for…”.
In practice
Ask today the question you dare not ask.
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 018 百聞は一見に如かず Hearing a hundred times is not worth seeing once.
- 150 一を聞いて十を知る Hear one, understand ten.
- 173 正直は一生の宝 Honesty is the treasure of a lifetime.
- 184 九死に一生を得る To gain one life out of nine deaths.
- 200 人の一生は重荷を負うて遠き道を行くが如し A man's life is a long road walked under a burden; there is no need to hurry.