050Japanese proverb ことわざ
蓼食う虫も好き好き
たでくうむしもすきずきTade kuu mushi mo sukizuki
“Some insects even relish the bitter knotweed.”
The meaning
Tastes cannot be argued. What repels one delights another, and the world is wide enough for every taste.
At the origin
Knotweed (tade) is a pungent plant; some insects feast on it nonetheless.
The characters
In practice
Resist the urge to judge a taste that is not yours.
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 113 一寸の虫にも五分の魂 Even a one-inch insect has half an inch of spirit.
- 129 下手の横好き Unskilled, but devoted.
- 296 家は漏らぬほど、食事は飢えぬほどにて足る事なり A house that does not leak, meals that end hunger: that is enough.
- 028 出る杭は打たれる The stake that sticks out gets hammered down.
- 034 笑う門には福来る Fortune comes to homes that laugh.