鶏群の一鶴

鶏群の一鶴

Japanese

Kanji in this term
鶏	群	一	鶴
けい Grade: S	ぐん Grade: 4	いつ > いっ Grade: 1	かく Grade: S
kan’on	goon	kan’on

Alternative spelling
鷄群の一鶴 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Based on a passage from the Book of Jin.[1][2]

Semi-calque of Chinese 鶴立雞群 (literally “a single crane standing out amongst a flock of chickens”). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Idiom

鶏(けい)群(ぐん)の一(いっ)鶴(かく) • (keigun no ikkaku) 

1. a great man standing out among the crowd

References

1. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN