055Japanese proverb ことわざ
親の心子知らず
おやのこころこしらずOya no kokoro ko shirazu
“The child does not know the parent's heart.”
The meaning
Parental love works in silence, often misunderstood in the moment. Years later we measure what was given without a sound.
At the origin
A tender, melancholy proverb about the gap between generations.
The characters
- 親 oyaparents
- の noof (link)
- 心
- 子
- 知らず
のParticleLinks two words: possession or belonging, like “of”.
In practice
Think of what a parent, teacher or elder did for you without saying so — and tell them.