011Japanese proverb ことわざ
上手の手から水が漏れる
じょうずのてからみずがもれるJōzu no te kara mizu ga moreru
“Even skilled hands let water slip through.”
The meaning
Mastery is never absolute. Continuous perfection does not exist, even among the best — vigilance and humility remain necessary at every level.
At the origin
A traditional proverb close to "even monkeys fall from trees", with a gentler nuance.
The characters
- 上手 jōzuskilled person
- の noof (link)
- 手 tehand
- から
- 水
- が
- 漏れる
のParticleLinks two words: possession or belonging, like “of”.
In practice
Keep your simple checks even in the fields where you excel.