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【No. 1753】Aku wa Nobeyo (悪は延べよ)

Oct 7, 2019 08:52
Aku wa Nobeyo

Yesterday, I introduced the proverb zen wa isoge (善は急げ),

Actually, this proverb has an additional part -- it is aku wa nobeyo (悪は延べよ).

(Usually, the latter part is omitted.)

Since aku (悪) means "bad" and nobeyo (延べよ) means "postpone," the literal meaning of aku wa nobeyo is "postpone bad things."

In other words, this proverb says that if you think it is bad, you should postpone doing it as much as possible.

If you postpone doing the bad thing, sometime you may come less need to do it.
悪は延べよ

昨日は、良いと思うことはすぐに実行すべきであることを意味する「善は急げ」ということわざを紹介しました。

実は、このことわざには「悪は延べよ」という続きがあります。

(大抵、後半は省略されます。)

「悪」は "bad"、「延べよ」は "postpone " を意味するので、「悪は延べよ」の文字どおりの意味は "postpone bad things" です。

すなわち、「悪いと思うことは、できるだけ延期せよ」と言っているわけです。

延期すれば、いつかそれを行わなくて済むようになるかもしれません。

Corrections (1)

No. 1 Amop567
  • Yesterday, I introduced the proverb 'zen wa isoge' (善は急げ),
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Actually, this proverb has an additional part -- it is 'aku wa nobeyo' (悪は延べよ).
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • (Usually, the latter part is omitted.)
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Since 'aku' (悪) means "bad" and 'nobeyo' (延べよ) means "postpone," the literal meaning of 'aku wa nobeyo' is "postpone bad things."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • In other words, this proverb says that if you think it is bad, you should postpone doing it as much as possible.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • If you postpone doing the bad thing, sometime you may come less need to do it.
  • If you postpone doing the bad thing, you may not have to do it after all.

    "you may come less need" doesn't quite make sense

Interesting. Sounds like a useful phrase ^^

Toru
Thank you for the correction! :)
Yes, it may be a useful phrase, but fewer Japanese use it compared with 善は急げ.

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