235Japanese idiom 四字熟語
臨機応変
りんきおうへんRinki ōhen
“Answering the moment as it comes.”
The meaning
No plan survives reality intact. True skill is not having foreseen everything, but adjusting rightly to what arrives.
At the origin
A four-character idiom of Chinese origin, essential in Japanese work culture.
The characters
In practice
Hold your plans firmly — and your methods loosely.
Editorial note
Classical Chinese origin.