267Japanese proverb ことわざ
残り物には福がある
のこりものにはふくがあるNokorimono ni wa fuku ga aru
“There is fortune in what remains.”
The meaning
Not rushing at the first choice sometimes leaves the best: what others disdained holds its surprises. A quiet praise of non-greed.
At the origin
A proverb told to children who go last — and to the patient of every age.
The characters
- 残り物 nokorimonoleftovers
- に niin
- は watopic marker
- 福
- が
- ある
にParticleThe point of arrival: a place, a moment, a destination.
はParticleMarks the topic: what the sentence is about — “as for…”.
In practice
Let your turn pass once: see what "the rest" offers you.