238Japanese idiom 四字熟語
有終の美
ゆうしゅうのびYūshū no bi
“The beauty of a completed ending.”
The meaning
Ending well is an art of its own: the last gesture colors all that came before. A work, a post, a relationship deserve a careful exit.
At the origin
An expression from the Book of Odes, widely used in Japan for successful departures.
The characters
- 有終 yūshūcompleted ending
- の noof (link)
- 美
のParticleLinks two words: possession or belonging, like “of”.
In practice
What you are about to leave: leave it better than you found it.
Editorial note
Classical Chinese origin (Book of Odes).
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 122 百里を行く者は九十を半ばとす He who travels a hundred leagues counts ninety as halfway.
- 133 初志貫徹 Carry your first resolve through to the end.
- 134 臥薪嘗胆 Sleeping on firewood, tasting gall.
- 198 千日の稽古を鍛とし、万日の稽古を錬とす A thousand days of practice to forge; ten thousand to polish.
- 246 竜頭蛇尾 Dragon's head, snake's tail.