102Japanese proverb ことわざ
柳に雪折れなし
やなぎにゆきおれなしYanagi ni yuki ore nashi
“Snow does not break the willow.”
The meaning
The supple resists where the rigid snaps. Bending under load is not weakening: it is the willow's way of bearing snow — then standing back up.
At the origin
A classic winter image of the strength of the flexible.
The characters
- 柳 yanagiwillow
- に nifor
- 雪
- 折れ
- なし
にParticleThe point of arrival: a place, a moment, a destination.
In practice
Under pressure, seek the suppleness that holds rather than the stiffness that breaks.
Themes
In the collections · Fuyu
Similar proverbs
- 110 雪は天から送られた手紙である Snow is a letter sent from the sky.
- 220 雪とけて村いっぱいの子どもかな Snow has melted — the village is full of children.
- 224 うまさうな雪がふうはりふはりかな How delicious it looks, the falling snow — softly, fluffily down.
- 281 雪月花 Snow, moon, flowers.
- 292 田子の浦にうち出でて見れば白妙の富士の高嶺に雪は降りつつ Coming out upon Tago Bay, I see: on Fuji's high peak, white, the snow still falling.