塞翁が馬

Japanese

Kanji in this term
塞 翁 馬
さい
Grade: S 		おう
Grade: S 		うま
Grade: 2
on'yomi kun'yomi

Etymology

From a tale in the Huainanzi (see Chinese 塞翁失馬，焉知非福 / 塞翁失马，焉知非福 (sàiwēng shī mǎ, yānzhī fēi fú) for more). Also compare Korean 새옹지마 (sae'ongjima), from the same Chinese proverb.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [sa̠io̞ːɡa̠ɯ̟ma̠]

Proverb

塞(さい)翁(おう)が馬(うま) • (saiō ga uma) 

  1. life goes through ups and downs and is unpredictable
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