Hana mo Hajirau (Even Flowers Get Shy)

Today, I'd like to talk about the Japanese adjective "hana mo hajirau."

This is used to describe that a young woman is greenly and beautiful.

The literal meaning is "even flowers get shy," that is to say, it implies that the woman is so beautiful it makes even beautiful flowers feel inferior and get shy.

For example, this adjective is used as: "hana mo hajirau otome," or "hana mo hajirau otoshigoro."

"Otome" means a maiden, and "otoshigoro" means puberty, but I think that both of above example sentences can be translated into "a girl in the first flush of youth" in English.

As of this adjective, the Japanese language often uses flowers when describing the beauty of women.

花も恥じらう

今日は、日本語の形容詞「花も恥じらう」を紹介します。

この言葉は、「若い女性の初々しくて美しい様子」を形容する言葉です。

美しい花ですら引け目を感じ、恥ずかしく思うほどその女性は初々しく美しいという意味です。

「花も恥じらう乙女」「花も恥じらうお年頃」のように使います。

日本語にはこのように、女性の美しさを形容する際に、花に例えたり花を引き合いに出すことが多いです。