一寸

Japanese

From Middle Chinese compound 一寸 (yit tshwon^H, literally “one thumb, one inch”).

On’yomi: Goon
- (Tokyo) いっすん [ìssúꜜǹ] (Nakadaka – [3])[1]
- IPA^(key): [isːɯ̟̃ᵝɴ]

一寸 (hiragana いっすん, rōmaji issun)

one sun: a unit of length equivalent to a tenth of a 尺 (shaku, traditional Japanese foot as a unit of length), or approximately 3.03 centimeters
a short amount of time, distance, or mass

一寸先 (いっすんさき)は闇 (やみ) (issun saki wa yami): “just a moment in the future is darkness” → the future is unknowable
一 (いっ)寸 (すん)の光陰軽 (こういんかろ)んずべからず (issun no kōin karonzu bekarazu): “a moment of light and dark should not be taken lightly” → every moment is precious
一 (いっ)寸 (すん)の虫 (むし)にも五 (ご)分 (ぶ)の魂 (たましい) (issun no mushi ni mo gobu no tamashī): “even a bug only an inch long is half [full of] soul” → even the smallest is worthy of respect
一寸下 (いっすんした)は地獄 (じごく) (issun shita wa jigoku): “an inch below is hell” → an allusion to the dangers of being on a boat, where only an inch of wood is between oneself and the deep ocean
一 (いっ)寸 (すん)延 (の)びれば尋延 (ひろの)びる (issun no bireba hiro nobiru): “if it'll stretch an inch, it'll stretch for six feet” → if one can just get past the hardest part, the rest is relatively easy

For pronunciation and definitions of 一寸 – see the following entry at ちょっと.
ちょっと，チョット，チョッと【一寸・鳥渡】 [adverb]slightly, a little, a bit, somewhat [adverb]an indirect expression of refusal [interjection]hey, excuse me
(This term, 一寸, is a kanji spelling of ちょっと.)

This kanji spelling is an example of jukujikun (熟字訓).