Is there an equivalent expression in Japanese for "strike while the iron is hot"?
I've seen a few questions on here with phrases and their equivalents. Does anybody know of a site where these are collated?
Japanese Language Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Japanese language. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this communityThere is an exact Japanese equivalent to "Strike while the iron is hot," that is "鉄は熱いうちに打て." I don't know whether this proverb had existed before we knew English version, or is just a translation of "Strike while the iron is hot."
It is 「[鉄]{てつ}は[熱]{あつ}いうちに[打]{う}て」 and every Japanese-speaker would be familiar with this saying.
English to Japanese: http://www.wa.commufa.jp/~anknak/ (Click where it says 「英語ことわざのABC順分類」)
There are a couple of equivalents listed on WWWJDIC. I cannot vouch that these are any common though.
「鉄は熱いうちに[鍛えよ]{きたえよ}」, a variant of the 打て version
「[善]{ぜん}は[急げ]{いそげ}」 make hay while the sun shines
「[奇貨居くべし]{きかおくべし}」 if you find something rare, buy it (i.e. don't let an opportunity slip)
「[幸運]{こううん}の[女神]{めがみ}は[前髪]{まえがみ}しかない」 opportunity only knocks once, lit. the goddess of good fortune has no hair except on her forehead