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【No. 1935】Kareki ni Hana (枯れ木に花 - Regaining Vigor)

Aug 13, 2021 17:28
Kareki ni Hana

When something that was once thought to be in decline regains its vigor, it can be expressed as kareki ni hana (枯れ木に花) in Japanese.

Since kare (枯れ) means "withered," ki (木) means "tree," and hana (花) means "flower," the literal meaning of kareki ni hana is "flowers on a withered tree."

It is very rare that flowers bloom on a withered tree, so you can also use kareki ni hana to mean "something miraculous happened."

Incidentally, I think that most Japanese people are familiar with the phrase Kareki ni hana wo sakase mashō (枯れ木に花を咲かせましょう - "Let's make flowers bloom on withered trees") in the Japanese folktale Hanasaka Jiisan (花咲かじいさん - "Flower-blooming Old Man").
枯れ木に花

一度衰えたと思っていたものが、再び元気を取り戻すことを、「枯れ木に花」ということがあります。

「枯れ」は "withered"、「木」は "tree"、「花」は "flower" を意味するので、「枯れ木に花」の文字どおりの意味は "flowers on a withered tree" となります。

枯れた木に花が咲くのは非常に珍しいことから、「起こりそうなことが起こる」の意味で用いられることもあります。

ちなみに、日本の昔話「花咲かじいさん」のフレーズ「枯れ木に花を咲かせましょう」は、ほとんどの日本人が知っていると思います。

Corrections (1)

No. 1 Amop567
  • Kareki ni Hana (枯れ木に花 - Regaining Vigor)
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • When something that was once thought to be in decline regains its vigor, it can be expressed as 'kareki ni hana' (枯れ木に花) in Japanese.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Since 'kare' (枯れ) means "withered," 'ki' (木) means "tree," and 'hana' (花) means "flower," the literal meaning of 'kareki ni hana' is "flowers on a withered tree."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • It is very rare that flowers bloom on a withered tree, so you can also use 'kareki ni hana' to mean "something miraculous happened."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Incidentally, I think that most Japanese people are familiar with the phrase 'Kareki ni hana wo sakase mashō' (枯れ木に花を咲かせましょう - "Let's make flowers bloom on withered trees") in the Japanese folktale 'Hanasaka Jiisan' (花咲かじいさん - "Flower-blooming Old Man").
  • Incidentally, I think that most Japanese people are familiar with the phrase 'Kareki ni hana wo sakase mashō' (枯れ木に花を咲かせましょう - "Let's make flowers bloom on withered trees") in the Japanese folktale 'Hanasaka Jiisan' (花咲かじいさん - "The Old Man Who Made Flowers Bloom").

    I think this is what you meant

I'm learning so many words and phrases from your posts. Please keep the entries coming! ^^

Toru
Thank you for the correction!
I'm so glad you said that! (^^)

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