犬も歩けば棒に当たる

Japanese

Kanji in this term
犬	歩	棒	当
いぬ Grade: 1	ある Grade: 2	ぼう Grade: 6	あ Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
犬も步けば棒に當たる (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Phrase consisting of 犬 (“dog”) +‎ も (“also”) +‎ 歩けば (“if (it) were to walk, hypothetical form of the verb 歩(ある)く (aruku)”) +‎ 棒 (“stick, rod, pole”) +‎ に (“directional particle”) +‎ 当たる (“to hit”), literally "even a dog could be hit by a stick if walking"

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [inɯ̟ mo̞ a̠ɾɯ̟ke̞ba̠ bo̞ː ɲ̟i a̠ta̠ɾɯ̟]

Proverb

犬(いぬ)も歩(ある)けば棒(ぼう)に当(あ)たる • (inu mo arukeba bō ni ataru) 

1. there is a danger of tragedy in any attempt
2. (idiomatic) good luck may come unexpectedly