279Japanese idiom 四字熟語
口八丁手八丁
くちはっちょうてはっちょうKuchi hatchō te hatchō
“Skilled of tongue, skilled of hand.”
The meaning
Knowing how to say and how to do: when both talents meet, the work convinces twice. One without the other always leaves a doubt.
At the origin
An expression of praise — sometimes tinged with wariness when the tongue outruns the hands.
The characters
In practice
Make sure your hands can hold everything your mouth says.
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 013 好きこそものの上手なれ What one loves, one will do well.
- 256 猫の手も借りたい One would even borrow the cat's paws.
- 293 秋の田のかりほの庵の苫をあらみ我が衣手は露にぬれつつ In the harvest-watch hut by the autumn fields, its rush roof loose, my sleeves grow wet with dew.
- 002 七転び八起き Fall seven times, rise eight.
- 011 上手の手から水が漏れる Even skilled hands let water slip through.