Mago nimo Isho (Clothes Make the Man)

Oct 30, 2016 14:09
Today, I will talk about the proverb "mago nimo isho."

"Mago" means a person who carries people and luggage while leading a horse, and "isho" means dress clothes.
(Currently in Japan, there is almost no people who work as mago.)

This proverb expresses that everyone will look good by wearing dress clothes, even if he/she is a low ranked person like mago.

Note that if you say this proverb to others, it can be rude.

Also, since the reading "mago" can mean "grandchild", some people think that "mago nimo isho" means "any cloth suits a grandchild," but this thought is wrong.
馬子にも衣装

今日は「馬子にも衣装」ということわざを紹介します。

「馬子」とは馬をひいて人や荷物を運ぶことを職業とした人を意味します。

このことわざは、馬子のような身分の低い人でも、身なりを整えれば立派に見えることを表します。

無下に他人に使うと失礼にあたりますので、注意して下さい。

「馬子」と「孫」の読みが同じであることから、「孫にも衣装(孫はどんな服を着てもかわいい)」と思っている人もいますが、これは間違いです。
No. 1 Jacob's correction
  • Mago nimo Isho (Clothes Make the Man)
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Today, I will talk about the proverb "mago nimo isho."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • "Mago" means a person who carries people and luggage while leading a horse, and "isho" means dress clothes.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • (Currently in Japan, there is almost no people who work as mago.)
  • (Currently in Japan, there is almost no people who work as mago.)
  • This proverb expresses that everyone will look good by wearing dress clothes, even if he/she is a low ranked person like mago.
  • This proverb expresses that everyone will look good by wearing dress clothes, even if he/she is a low ranked person like a mago.
  • Note that if you say this proverb to others, it can be rude.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Also, since the reading "mago" can mean "grandchild", some people think that "mago nimo isho" means "any cloth suits a grandchild," but this thought is wrong.
  • Also, since the reading "mago" can mean "grandchild", some people think that "mago nimo isho" means "any cloth suits a grandchild," but this thought is wrong.
Toru
Thank you so much for correcting my post! :)
No. 2 's correction
  • Today, I will talk about the proverb "mago nimo isho."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • "Mago" means a person who carries people and luggage while leading a horse, and "isho" means dress clothes.
  • "Mago" means a person who carries people and luggage while leading a horse, and "isho" means dress clothes.In Japanese, a "mago" is a person whose job is to lead a horse to help carry people and luggage, and "isho" means dress clothes.
     This sentence is perfectly fine how you wrote it, but I think what I wrote in blue is more natural.
  • (Currently in Japan, there is almost no people who work as mago.)
  • (Currently in Japan, there is are almost no people who work as mago anymore.) (Or, you can say: "In modern Japan, almost no one works as a mago anymore.")
  • This proverb expresses that everyone will look good by wearing dress clothes, even if he/she is a low ranked person like mago.
  • This proverb expresses that everyone will anyone can look good by wearing if they wear dress clothes, even if he or she is a low-ranked lower-class person like a mago.
  • Note that if you say this proverb to others, it can be rude.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Also, since the reading "mago" can mean "grandchild", some people think that "mago nimo isho" means "any cloth suits a grandchild," but this thought is wrong.
  • Also, since the reading "mago" can mean is said the same way as "grandchild" in Japanese, some people think that "mago nimo isho" means "any clothing suits a grandchild," but this thought is wrong.
     Saying "the reading" is not wrong, but English-speaking people who don't know about kanji may not understand. So I changed your wording a bit. You could also say that "mago" and "grandchild" are homonyms (同音異義語) in Japanese, and people should understand.
Great job! This is a very interesting proverb and I have never heard the word "mago" before, so I learned a lot, too. :)
Toru
Thank you very much for the corrections and explanations!
I learned something new (^^)
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