Ishibashi wo Tataite Wataru
Today, I will talk about the Japanese proverb “ishibashi wo tataite wataru.”
石橋を叩いて渡る
The literal meanings is “to cross a stone bridge after beating it,” and it expresses “to do something cautiously and carefully.”
今日は、日本のことわざ「石橋を叩いて渡る」を紹介します。
This comes from that although stone bridges look firm, very careful people beat them for confirming safe conditions.
このことわざは、「ものすごく慎重に、用心深く物事を行う」ことのたとえです。
This proverb is often used to mean “someone is very careful,” while it sometimes used to mean “someone is too cowardice” with irony.
石橋は非常に堅固に見えますが、それでも叩いて壊れないかを確認する用心深さに由来します。
Also, we sometimes say “ishibashi wo tataite kowasu” (to break a stone bridge by beating it too many times) for people who fail due to their carefulness, and say “ishibashi wo tataite wataranai” (not to cross a stone bridge after beating it) for people who don’t act.
「用心深い」という意味で使われることもあれば、「臆病すぎる」などの皮肉を込めた意味で使われることもあります。
By the way, there is an English proverb “Hear twice before you speak once,” which has the similar meaning.
また、「慎重になりすぎて失敗した人」に対して「石橋を叩いて壊す」、「慎重になりすぎて結局行動しない人」に対して「石橋を叩いて渡らない」などと言うこともあります。
