河童の川流れ

Japanese

Kanji in this term
河	童	川	流
かわ > か Grade: 5	わっぱ > っぱ Grade: 3	かわ Grade: 1	なが Grade: 3
irregular		kun’yomi

Etymology

Phrase consisting of 河童 (kappa, “water imp”, in traditional Japanese folklore) + の (no, possessive particle) + 川 (kawa, “river”) + 流れ (nagare, “flowing; flushing away”, the 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 流(なが)れる (nagareru, “to flow; to be flushed away”)).[1][2][3][4] Metaphor for the way that anyone, even experts (as kappa are expert swimmers), might make mistakes.

First cited to a text from 1829.[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ka̠p̚pa̠ no̞ ka̠ɰᵝa̠ na̠ɡa̠ɾe̞]

Proverb

河(か)童(っぱ)の川(かわ)流(なが)れ • (kappa no kawa nagare)

[from 1829] even Homer nods: even the experts make mistakes
Synonyms: 猿も木から落ちる (saru mo ki kara ochiru, literally “even monkeys fall from trees”), 弘法にも筆の誤り (Kōbō ni mo fude no ayamari, literally “brushstroke mistakes even in [the writings of] Kūkai”)

References

“河童の川流れ”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
“河童の川流れ”, in デジタル大辞泉 (Dejitaru Daijisen)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
1998, 広辞苑 (Kōjien), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[KDJ2-1] “河童の川流れ”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN

[DDJS-2] “河童の川流れ”, in デジタル大辞泉 (Dejitaru Daijisen)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months

[K-3] 1998, 広辞苑 (Kōjien), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN

[DJR-4] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN