JLPT N2Proverbs
紺屋の白袴
- Meaning
- 他人のことに忙しく自分のことに手が回らないこと
- Explanation
- "紺屋の白袴" is a metaphor for being so busy with others' affairs that one cannot attend to one's own—just as a dyer leaves his own hakama white, undyed. It expresses the opposite situation of "a craftsman prioritizes his own work".
Original Japanese explanation
「紺屋の白袴」は、染め物屋が自分の袴は染めずに白いままにしているように、他人のことに忙しくて自分のことには手が回らないことのたとえです。「職人は自分の仕事を最優先にする」とは逆の状況を表します。
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