123Japanese proverb ことわざ
商いは牛の涎
あきないはうしのよだれAkinai wa ushi no yodare
“Trade is like an ox's drool.”
The meaning
Long, thin, continuous: so goes good trade — and all lasting work. Seeking gain in one stroke breaks the thread; patient continuity makes it last.
At the origin
A maxim of Edo merchants: prosperity is spun slowly, without breaks.
The characters
- 商い akinaitrade
- は watopic marker
- 牛
- の
- 涎
はParticleMarks the topic: what the sentence is about — “as for…”.
In practice
Prefer small continuous progress to the big uncertain strike.