Ichijitsu Senshu
Today I will talk about the four-character idiom “一日千秋 (ichijitsu senshu).”
一日千秋
“Ichijitsu senshu” means that you can’t wait to something and feel like a long time.
今日は「一日千秋」という四字熟語を紹介します。
The “ichijitsu” of “ichijitsu senshu” means “a day,” abd the “senshu” means “a thousand autumn,” that is, this idiom implies that you feel as if a day is a thousand year.
「一日千秋」は、何かがとても楽しみで、一日がとても長く感じられることを表します。
The reason why “autumn” is used rather than “spring” or “winter” is because “autumn” is the harvest season, and the kanji character could mean time/term.
「千秋」は「千回の秋」すなわち「千年」を意味し、「一日千秋」は「一日が千年のように長く感じられる」という意味になります。
Incidentally, this was derived from the Chinese idiom “一日三秋 (ichijitsu sanshu),” which has the same meaning.
(Where “sanshu” means “three autumn.”)
(Where “sanshu” means “three autumn.”)
「春」や「冬」ではなく「秋」が使われている理由は、「秋」は収穫の季節であり、「とき」を表す言葉でもあるからです。
