expression:

• what will happen to everyone else if I am not the one who goes? (expression of confidence from someone going out into the world)

expression:

• one cannot shake the will of even the lowliest man; a person's will should be respected; even a menial deserves his convictions - proverb

expression:

• a narrow-minded person cannot understand the ways of the world; a frog in the well cannot understand the ocean even if it is explained to it [literal] - proverb ➜ 井の中の蛙大海を知らず【いのなかのかわずたいかいをしらず】・井蛙【せいあ】

expression:

• there must be a clear distinction between the upper and lower classes; even new shoes must not be worn on the head [literal] - proverb

expression:

• one should not leave things unfinished; when a young Mencius returned home during the middle of school, his mother cut off the cloth she had been weaving on the loom to admonish him for stopping his studies midway - proverb ➜ 断機

expression:

• day and night; around the clock

expression / noun:

• completely naked; in one's birthday suit

expression / noun:

• humiliation of defeat in battle; past humiliation by others; shame of an unendurable disgrace - proverb ➜ 会稽の恥を雪ぐ【かいけいのはじをすすぐ】

expression:

• to avenge a defeat; to regain one's honor - idiom

expression:

• those who wish to rule the land must first cultivate their own characters, then manage their families, then govern their states; only then can they bring peace to the land (a mantra of Confucianism) - proverb

expression:

• blessed are the peacemakers; one should appreciate and follow the advice of a mediator - proverb ➜ 時の氏神【ときのうじがみ】・挨拶

expression:

• having completely different natures and being incompatible with each other; like oil and water; ice and (charcoal) fire cannot coexist [literal] - proverb ➜ 相容れない【あいいれない】

expression / ~する verb (irregular):

• to swallow (e.g. a story); to accept without questioning - idiom
• to swallow (food) whole; to gobble up; to gulp down

expression:

• one cannot understand even a holy man's teachings without study; one cannot know the abilities of a great man without putting him to use; one cannot know the delicious taste of fine food without eating it [literal] - proverb

expression / noun:

• a swan among ducklings; a diamond among stones; a great figure among the common run of men - idiom

expression / noun:

• something that looks difficult but actually isn't; swimming in a cold lake during mid-winter seems difficult, but it's nothing to a kappa - idiom

expression:

• if you don't mind; if you like; if you feel up for it; if you're interested

expression / noun:

• having a happy and harmonious relationship (of a husband and wife) - idiom

expression:

• avarice brings doom upon oneself; if a hawk-eagle tries to catch two boars at once, the boars will try to run in opposite directions, splitting the hawk-eagle into two and killing it - proverb

expression / godan ~ぐ verb:

• to protect against the elements; to shelter oneself from the weather

expression / godan ~る verb:

• to continue (going along some trend) - usu. 〜の一途をたどる

expression:

• following the desires of one's own heart without transgressing what is right - from the Analects of Confucius - proverb

expression:

• to wait for a good opportunity; to come down on the right side of the fence; to see which way the cat jumps; to wait and see at Horagatoge [literal] - proverb

expression / ichidan verb:

• to reveal one's true colors - idiom ➜ メッキが剥げる【メッキがはげる】

expression:

• filial piety begins with not harming one's own body (as one's entire body was given by one's parents) (from The Classic of Filial Piety)