井の中の蛙大海を知らず

井の中の蛙大海を知らず

Japanese

Kanji in this term
井	中	蛙	大	海	知
い Grade: 4	なか Grade: 1	かわず Hyōgaiji	たい Grade: 1	かい Grade: 2	し Grade: 2
kun’yomi			kan’on	on’yomi	kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
井の中の蛙大海を知らず (kyūjitai)

Alternative forms

• 井の内の蛙大海を知らず (i no uchi no kawazu taikai o shirazu)

Etymology

Partial calque of Literary Chinese 井鼃不可以語於海者，拘於虛也 ("A frog in a well cannot be talked with about an ocean - it is confined to its own narrow place."), from the writings of Zhuangzi.[1][2]

Comprised of 井 (i, “well”) +‎ の (no, possessive particle) +‎ 中 (naka, “inside”) +‎ の (no, possessive particle) +‎ 蛙 (kawazu, “frog”) +‎ 大海 (taikai, “great ocean”) +‎ を (o, object particle) +‎ 知らず (shirazu, “not know”, the classical negative conjugation of verb 知る (shiru, “to know”)), literally “a frog in a well does not know the great ocean”.

The back-formation of this form in pseudo-kanbun would be 井中之蛙不知大海. Compare modern Chinese 井底之蛙 (jǐngdǐzhīwā), Korean 정중지와 부지대해 (井中之蛙 不知大海, jeongjungjiwa bujidaehae).

First cited to 1179.[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [i no̞ na̠ka̠ no̞ ka̠ɰᵝa̠zɨᵝ ta̠ika̠i o̞ ɕiɾa̠zɨᵝ]

Proverb

井(い)の中(なか)の蛙(かわず)大(たい)海(かい)を知(し)らず • (i no naka no kawazu taikai o shirazu) ^{←ゐのなかのかはづたいかいをしらず (wi no naka no kafadu taikai wo sirazu)?}

1. (figuratively) a narrow world view based on limited experience
   • 2006, 下 健, 言葉と生きる, 新風舎, page 23,

     また、私(わたし)たちは往々(おうおう)にしてほんの少(すこ)し周囲(しゅうい)の人(ひと)たちより良(よ)い結果(けっか)がでると、有頂天(うちょうてん)になって自慢(じまん)したいような気持(きも)ちになりがちです。
     まさに『井(い)の中(なか)の蛙大海(かわずたいかい)を知(し)らず』で恥(は)ずかしい話(はなし)であります。

     Mata, watashitachi wa ōō ni shite hon no sukoshi shūi no hitotachi yori yoi kekka ga deru to, uchōten ni natte jiman shitai yō na kimochi ni narigachi desu.
     masa ni “i no naka no kawazu taikai o shirazu” de hazukashii hanashi de arimasu.

     We are also prone to feel proud of ourselves and feel like bragging when we get a result that is just a little bit better than that of the others around us.
     This is indeed a case of "a frog in a well does not know the great ocean" and is an embarrassing state of affairs.

Synonyms

• 井(い)の中(なか)の蛙(かわず) (i no naka no kawazu)
• 井(い)の内(うち)の蛙(かわず) (i no uchi no kawazu)
• 井底(せいてい)の蛙(かわず) (seitei no kawazu)

See also

• Chinese: 井底之蛙 (jǐngdǐzhīwā)

References

1. “いのうちのかわずたいかいをしらず”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
2. “井の中の蛙”, in 日本大百科全書：ニッポニカ (Nippon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica, “Encyclopedia Nipponica”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 1984