Oyakōkō Shitai Toki ni wa Oya wa Nashi (親孝行したいときには親はなし - When One Would Be Filial, One's Parents Are Gone)

Oyakōkō Shitai Toki ni wa Oya wa Nashi

In yesterday's post, I introduced the proverb 'ishi ni futon wa kiserarezu' (石に布団は着せられず), which means "when one would be filial, one's parents are gone."

To mean the same thing, you can also use the direct proverb, 'oyakōkō shitai toki ni wa oya wa nashi' (親孝行したいときには親はなし).

Since 'oyakōkō' (親孝行) means "being filial," 'shitai' (したい) means "want to," 'toki' (とき) means "when," 'oya' (親) means "parent," and 'nashi' (なし) means "nothing/gone," this proverb literally means "when you want to be filial, your parents are gone."

It also means that we should be filial to our parents as soon as possible so that we will not have regrets.

親孝行したいときには親はなし

昨日は "when one would be filial, one's parents are gone" を意味する「石に布団は着せられず」ということわざを紹介しました。

同じことを意味するために、もっと直接的に「親孝行したいときには親はなし」と言うこともできます。

「親孝行」は "being filial"、「したい」は "want to"、「とき」は "when"、「親」は "parent"、「なし」は "nothing/gone" を意味するので、「親孝行したいときには親はなし」は文字どおり "when you want to be filial, your parents are gone" を意味します。

後悔をしないよう、若い頃から親孝行をしましょうということです。