274Japanese proverb ことわざ
明日は我が身
あすはわがみAsu wa waga mi
“Tomorrow, it may be me.”
The meaning
The misfortune striking another could strike me tomorrow. This thought is not morbid: it founds the most solid compassion — the kind that knows itself concerned.
At the origin
A proverb said before another's misfortune, to cut judgment short.
The characters
- 明日 asutomorrow
- は watopic marker
- 我が
- 身
はParticleMarks the topic: what the sentence is about — “as for…”.
In practice
Before someone's hardship, replace judgment with "tomorrow, perhaps me".
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 090 我が身をつねって人の痛さを知れ Pinch yourself to know another's pain.
- 071 明日は明日の風が吹く Tomorrow, tomorrow's wind will blow.
- 176 明日の百より今日の五十 Better fifty today than a hundred tomorrow.
- 291 花の色は移りにけりないたづらに我が身世にふるながめせしまに The color of the flowers has faded, while I watched the long rains fall — and my life go by.
- 222 我と来て遊べや親のない雀 Come and play with me, sparrow without parents.