Asu wa Wagami (明日は我が身 - Tomorrow It Might Be Me)

Asu wa Wagami

Have you ever seen someone's misfortune in front of you?

You might think that it is just an event of other people and does not concern you, but a similar misfortune could befall you in the near future.

'Asu wa wagami' (明日は我が身) is a Japanese phrase that admonishes people for such a possibility.

'Asu' (明日) means "tomorrow," 'waga' (我が) means "my," and 'mi' (身) means "body."

That is to say, 'asu wa wagami' literally says that it might happen to my body tomorrow.

明日は我が身

他人の不幸を目の当たりにしたことはありますか？

あなたはそれを他人事だと思っているかもしれませんが、同じような不幸が、近い内にあなた自身に降り掛かってくるかもしれません。

そのようなことを戒める言葉に、「明日は我が身」があります。

「明日」は "tomorrow"、「我が」は "my"、「身」は "body" を意味します。

すなわち「明日は我が身」とは、"it might happen to my body tomorrow" というわけです。

When I see other people's misfortune, I feel a vague sense of schadenfreude

• Have you ever seen someone's misfortune in front of you?
• This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

• You might think that it is just an event of other people and does not concern you, but a similar misfortune could befall you in the near future.
• You might think that it is just an unfortunate event that happens to other people that does not concern you, but a similar misfortune could befall you in the near future.

• 'Asu wa wagami' (明日は我が身) is a Japanese phrase that admonishes people for such a possibility.
• 'Asu wa wagami' (明日は我が身) is a Japanese phrase that admonishes people over(?) such a possibility.

  "for" sounds a bit odd to me in this context. Sure, you can say, "admonish someone for being late". The "for" usually refers back to what the person (or entity) did wrong. But here it only refers to a possibility.
  
  Not absolutely sure which preposition should go with "admonish" in this context, I did a search online and found this:
  
  "He also admonished the U.S. central bank over the cost of borrowing money." - Los Angeles Times, Nov 2018.
  
  And I'm good with this.
  :)

Good post! I may never learn Japanese but little sayings are always interesting to know. Thanks!