240Japanese idiom 四字熟語
我田引水
がでんいんすいGaden insui
“Drawing the water to one's own rice field.”
The meaning
Bending every argument, rule and division to one's advantage. The idiom names this very human bent — naming it in yourself is already fighting it.
At the origin
A farming image: diverting the shared canal's water to one's own field alone.
The characters
In practice
In your next arbitration, look once for the other's interest first.
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 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.
- 011 上手の手から水が漏れる Even skilled hands let water slip through.
- 089 人の振り見て我が振り直せ Watch others' conduct and mend your own.
- 090 我が身をつねって人の痛さを知れ Pinch yourself to know another's pain.
- 026 覆水盆に返らず Spilled water does not return to the tray.