猫に小判
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Japanese
[edit]| Kanji in this term | ||
|---|---|---|
| 猫 | 小 | 判 |
| ねこ Grade: S |
こ Grade: 1 |
ばん Grade: 5 |
| kun'yomi | on'yomi | |
Etymology
[edit]Phrase composed of 猫 (neko, “cat, cats”) + に (ni, “to”, directional particle) + 小判 (koban, a kind of traditional gold coin).[1][2][3] Literally, “gold coins to cats”.
First cited to a text from 1687.[1]
Pronunciation
[edit]Idiom
[edit]猫に小判 • (neko ni koban)
- to give something valuable to someone who does not understand that value: to cast pearls before swine [1687]
References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
Categories:
- Japanese terms spelled with 猫 read as ねこ
- Japanese terms spelled with 小 read as こ
- Japanese terms spelled with 判 read as ばん
- Japanese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Japanese lemmas
- Japanese idioms
- Japanese terms with multiple readings
- Japanese terms spelled with secondary school kanji
- Japanese terms spelled with first grade kanji
- Japanese terms spelled with fifth grade kanji
- Japanese terms with 3 kanji