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豚もおだてりゃ木に登る

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Japanese

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Kanji in this term
ぶた
Grade: S

Grade: 1
のぼ
Grade: 3
kun'yomi

Etymology

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Phrase consisting of (buta, pig) +‎ (mo, also) +‎ 煽てりゃ (odaterya, if you flatter, contraction of 煽てれば (odatereba), conditional or hypothetical form of the verb 煽てる (odateru, to flatter)) +‎ (ki, tree) +‎ (ni, into, directional particle) +‎ 登る (noboru, to climb). Literally "even a pig will climb up a tree if flattered".[1][2]

Proverb

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(ぶた)もおだてりゃ()(のぼ) (buta mo odaterya ki ni noboru

  1. flattery will motivate anyone, flattery can do wonders

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN