Hebi-geiko

Both

English

Japanese

The literal meaning of “hebi” is “snake,” “geiko” means “enrichment lesson,” and “hebi-geiko” means that someone quits enrichment lessons soon.

今日は「蛇稽古」という慣用句を紹介します。

Usage example: Don’t do hebi-geiko (Don’t quit something easily).

「蛇稽古」は、稽古事が長続きしないことをたとえて言います。

Snakes are a creature that hibernates during autumn and winter, and starts activities in spring.

例：蛇稽古はやめにしよう。

We thought that a person who started something in spring and ends in autumn was similar to the snake, then the term “hebi-geiko” was born.

蛇は秋に冬眠をして、春に目覚めて活動を始める生き物です。

Incidentally, there is another idiom called “mikka bozu, ” which has the almost similar meaning of “hebi-geiko.”

この蛇のように、春に稽古事を始めてもまた秋には活動をやめてしまうことを例えて、「蛇稽古」という言葉ができました。

You can see the etymology in the following article.

ちなみに、同じような言葉に「三日坊主」があります。

以下の記事にて、その語源の説明をしています。