Gaden Insui (我田引水 – Self-serving)
Gaden Insui
我田引水
The action of trying to make things happen to one’s own advantage is called gaden insui (我田引水) in Japanese.
自分の都合の良いように物事を進めようとすることを「我田引水」と言います。
Since ga (我) means “my,” den (田) means “field,” in (引) means
“to draw,” and sui (水) means “water,” the literal meaning of this four-character idiom is “to draw water to my own field.”
“to draw,” and sui (水) means “water,” the literal meaning of this four-character idiom is “to draw water to my own field.”
「我」は “my”、「田」は “field”、「引」は “”、「水」は “” を意味するので、この四字熟語の文字どおりの意味は “” となります。
Imagine the selfish act of drawing water only to your own field while ignoring other people’s fields. That is gaden insui.
他人の田を無視して自分のところにばかり水を引く行為は、自分勝手な行為というわけです。
Such a selfishness act can also be described as temae gatte (手前勝手) or jibun katte (自分勝手).
「手前勝手」や「自分勝手」のように言い換えることもできます。
