口に蜜あり腹に剣あり
Japanese
| Kanji in this term | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 口 | 蜜 | 腹 | 剣 |
| Grade: 1 | Grade: S | Grade: 6 | Grade: S |
Etymology
Literally, "where there is a mouth of honey, there is a sword in the belly." Calque of Literary Chinese 口密腹劍.
Proverb
口に蜜あり腹に剣あり (hiragana くちにみつありはらにけんあり, rōmaji kuchi ni mitsu ari hara ni ken ari)
- Beneath sweet words lurks venom.
References
- The Kōjien (広辞苑) Dictionary of the Japanese Language, 5th edition, Iwanami Shoten Publishing, Tokyo.