- 一石二鳥 (Isseki nicho) -- two birds with one stone
- 人の振り見て我が振りなおせ (Hito no firimite wagafurinaose) -- Behave yourself according to others
- 言わぬが花 (Iwanu ga hana) -- Words can be harsh so that it is probably good idea not to say about it.
- 聞くは一時の恥 聞かぬは一生の恥 (Kiku ha ittoki no hajikikanu ha isshô no haji) -- Shame when you ask is less than one when you didn't
- 笑う門には福来る (Warau kado niha fuku kitaru) -- Smile calls happiness
- 秋茄子は嫁に食わすな (Akinasu ha yomeni kuwasuna Don't get fall nasu to your son's wife)
- 挨拶は時の氏神 (Aisatsu ha tokino ujigami)
- 悪妻は百年の不作 (Akisai ha hyaku-nenn no fusaku) -- Bad wife is equivalient to hundered year long bad harvest.
- 朝の蜘蛛は福が来る、夜の蜘蛛は盗人が来る
- アワビの貝の片想い
- 案ずるより生むが易し
- 言いたい事は明日言え
- 医者の不養生 -- doctor tends to be careless about himself
- 入り鉄砲に出女 (literally meaning guns enter and women leave)
- 烏合の衆
- 兎の角
- うどの大木
- 江戸っ子は五月の鯉の吹き流し
- 海老で鯛を釣る
- 老い木に花
- 押してもだめなら引いてみな
- 男心と秋の空
- 女心と秋の空
- 飼い犬に手をかまれる
- 風と女は閉じ込められない
- 風の中で育った木は根が強い
- 風吹けば桶屋が儲かる
- 河童の川流れ
- 金持ち喧嘩せず -- The rich doesn't fight
- 義を見てせざるは勇無きなり
- 食うだけなら犬でも食う -- Even dogs can eat
- 芸が身を助ける -- Your skills help you
- 芸が身を助けるほどの不仕合せ
- 下衆の後知恵
- 恋に師匠無し
- 国士無双 -- No one else in the nation
- 紺屋の白袴
- 塞翁が馬
- 才子、才に倒れる or often 策士、策士におぼれる
- 猿も木から落ちる -- Even monkeys drop from a tree
- 四海波静か
- 疾風に勁草を知る
- 水火も辞せず
- するのは失敗何もしないのは大失敗
- 青雲の志 (literally meaning ambisios of blue sky)
- 切磋琢磨 (Sessa takuma)
- 前人の植えた樹 -- Trees planed by formers
- 滄海の一粟
- 袖すり合うも他生の縁
- 大海の一滴 -- One drop in the big occean
- 立て板に水
- 旅の恥はかきすて
- 知恵者1人馬鹿万人
- 着眼大局
Because of Japanese tradition tied to aguriculture, many Japanese provers are derieved from custom in farms. And surprisingly many of them contain menation about women's behavior as well as natural phenomenas. Some are from Go game and Buddhism.
See also: Japanese culture, Japanese language, English proverbs, Chinese proverbs, Korean proverbs