Manaita no Koi (まな板の鯉 – Someone Doomed to Their Fate)

Both

English

Japanese

The Japanese idiom manaita no koi (まな板の鯉) describes a situation where one cannot do anything and is completely at the mercy of others.

自分の力ではどうしようもなく、相手のなすがままになるしかない状態のことを、「まな板の鯉」と言います。

・Manaita (まな板) means “cutting board.”
・Koi (鯉) means “carp.”

「まな板」・・・ “cutting board”
「鯉」・・・ “carp”

Therefore, the literal meaning of manaita no koi is “carp on a cutting board.”

そのため「まな板の鯉」の文字どおりの意味は “carp on a cutting board” となります。

If you put live carp placed on a cutting board, it will leap around.

生きた鯉を調理しようとまな板に乗せると、暴れてしまいます。

However, the carp can easily faint by stroking its lateral line with a knife or tapping between its eyes.

しかし鯉は、包丁で側線を撫でたり、眉間を叩くことで、簡単に気絶するそうです。

The carp looks as if it has accepted its inevitable death, leading to the current meaning of this idiom.

この鯉の様子が、死を覚悟しているかのように見え、現在の意味に転じたというわけです。