017Japanese proverb ことわざ
井の中の蛙大海を知らず
いのなかのかわずたいかいをしらずI no naka no kawazu taikai o shirazu
“The frog at the bottom of the well knows nothing of the great ocean.”
The meaning
Each of us takes our horizon for the world. Recognizing the narrowness of one's viewpoint is the first step to widening it.
At the origin
An image from the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, now one of the most familiar proverbs in Japanese.
The characters
- 井 iwell
- の noof (link)
- 中 nakainside
- の
- 蛙
- 大海
- を
- 知らず
のParticleLinks two words: possession or belonging, like “of”.
In practice
Regularly seek an opinion from outside your own circle.
Editorial note
Classical Chinese origin (Zhuangzi).