146Japanese proverb ことわざ
渡る世間に鬼はない
わたるせけんにおにはないWataru seken ni oni wa nai
“Across the wide world, there are no demons.”
The meaning
The world is not peopled with villains: along the way one mostly meets ordinary people, often ready to help. Reasonable trust is more realistic than distrust.
At the origin
A proverb of encouragement for travel and encounter.
The characters
- 渡る wataruto cross
- 世間 sekenthe world
- に niin
- 鬼
- は
- ない
にParticleThe point of arrival: a place, a moment, a destination.
In practice
Grant the next stranger a favorable prejudice.
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 273 世間は広いようで狭い The world seems wide, and it is small.
- 053 旅は道連れ世は情け On a journey, a companion; in life, kindness.
- 244 疑心暗鬼 Suspicion fills the dark with phantoms.
- 073 渡りに船 A boat just when you need to cross.
- 291 花の色は移りにけりないたづらに我が身世にふるながめせしまに The color of the flowers has faded, while I watched the long rains fall — and my life go by.