Guide to Japanese Idioms

  • There are two Japanese idioms I really like:

    1. Kawara wa migaite mo tama ni naranu, no matter how much you polish a roof tile it won't become a gemstone.

    2. Kawara mo migakeba nara tama to naru, if you polish it enough even a roof tile will become a gemstone.

    I just like having those two contradictions.