066Japanese proverb ことわざ
光陰矢の如し
こういんやのごとしKōin ya no gotoshi
“Time flies like an arrow.”
Word for wordLight and shade pass like an arrow.
The meaning
Days feel slow and years brief. Feeling time's speed is not sad: it is what gives today its worth.
At the origin
Kōin — "light and shade" — means day and night: time itself.
The characters
In practice
Do today the thing you keep putting off "for later".
Editorial note
Classical Chinese origin.