Cast Pearls Before Swine

Jul 5, 2016 23:31
The saying "cast pearls before swine" came from a Bible verse, and means that it is in vain to give valuable things to someone who don't understand the value.

The Japanese translation version "buta ni shinju" (pearls to swine), which has the same meaning, is also famous in Japan.

Actually, there is the other saying "neko ni koban," (oval gold coind to cats) which has completely the same meaning of "cast pearls before swine" in Japan.

Since Japanese versions have no verbs, it might be a little difficult to understand with no background information.

Also, as other sayings that mean ineffective things, there are "inu ni rongo" (Analects to dogs), "uma no mimi ni nenbutsu" (Buddhist chants to horse's ears), and "kaeru no tsura ni mizu" (water to frog's faces).

You can see a variety of animals in Japanese sayings.
豚に真珠

「Cast pearls before swine」ということわざは聖書の一節から来ており、価値のわからない人に価値のあるものを与えても無駄であることを意味します。

日本語訳の「豚に真珠」も同じ意味であり、日本でも有名なことわざです。

実は全く同じ意味のことわざとして、「猫に小判」があります。

日本語版には動詞が無いので、予備知識無しに意味を理解するのは少し難しいかもしれません。

また、無駄であることを意味することわざは他にも「犬に論語」「馬の耳に念仏」「蛙の面に水」などがあります。

日本のことわざには、動物がとてもよく使われます。
No. 1　Kiwi's correction
  • The saying "cast pearls before swine" came from a Bible verse, and means that it is in vain to give valuable things to someone who don't understand the value.
  • The saying "cast pearls before swine" comes from a Bible verse, and means that it is futile to give valuable things to someone who doesn't understand their value.
  • The Japanese translation version "buta ni shinju" (pearls to swine), which has the same meaning, is also famous in Japan.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Actually, there is the other saying "neko ni koban," (oval gold coind to cats) which has completely the same meaning of "cast pearls before swine" in Japan.
  • Actually, there is the other saying "neko ni koban," (oval gold coins to cats) which has completely the same meaning as "cast pearls before swine" in Japan.
  • Since Japanese versions have no verbs, it might be a little difficult to understand with no background information.
  • Since the Japanese versions have no verbs, it might be a little difficult to understand with no background information.
  • Also, as other sayings that mean ineffective things, there are "inu ni rongo" (Analects to dogs), "uma no mimi ni nenbutsu" (Buddhist chants to horse's ears), and "kaeru no tsura ni mizu" (water to frog's faces).
  • Also, there are other sayings that mean the same thing such as "inu ni rongo" (Analects to dogs), "uma no mimi ni nenbutsu" (Buddhist chants to horse's ears), and "kaeru no tsura ni mizu" (water to frog's faces).
  • You can see a variety of animals in Japanese sayings.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
I like animals in Japanese sayings. I like 猿も木から落ちる　and 井の中の蛙大海を知らず
Toru
Thank you very much for correcting my post! :)
Yeah, these sayings are very famous and many Japanese prefer to use them, but I heard "井の中の蛙大海を知らず" comes from China.
Seralt
It does indeed! The wealth of animal-related expressions in Japanese are only enriched by further borrowings from Chinese. (My favourite three: 井底之蛙、蟷螂之斧、胡蝶之夢、etc.)
Toru
Thank you for letting me know the sayings!
I didn't know "蟷螂之斧," but I also like what it means :)
No. 2　Seralt's correction
  • Cast Pearls Before Swine
  • Casting Pearls Before Swine
  • The saying "cast pearls before swine" came from a Bible verse, and means that it is in vain to give valuable things to someone who don't understand the value.
  • The saying "to cast pearls before swine" comes from a Bible verse, and means that it is futile to give valuable things to someone who doesn't understand their value.
  • The Japanese translation version "buta ni shinju" (pearls to swine), which has the same meaning, is also famous in Japan.
  • The Japanese translation version "buta ni shinju" (pearls to swine), which has the same meaning, is also well-known in Japan.
  • Actually, there is the other saying "neko ni koban," (oval gold coind to cats) which has completely the same meaning of "cast pearls before swine" in Japan.
  • Actually, there is another saying: "neko ni koban," (gold doubloons to cats) which has the exact same meaning as "cast pearls before swine" in Japan.
    　英語圏に存在しない通貨をわざわざ訳すのはややおかしいので、意訳的に直しました。
  • Since Japanese versions have no verbs, it might be a little difficult to understand with no background information.
  • Since the Japanese versions omit the verbs, it might be a little difficult to understand without background information.
In fact, in English, we can also omit the verb to just "pearls before swine". "Pearls before Swine" is also the name of a well-known comic strip series.
Toru
Thank you so much for correcting my post!

> we can also omit the verb to just "pearls before swine". "Pearls before Swine" is also the name of a well-known comic strip series.
I didn't know that, thank you for letting me know :D
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