JLPT N3Idioms
歯が立たない
- Meaning
- 相手が強すぎて自分の力では及ばない
- Explanation
- 「歯が立たない」 means that an opponent or matter is too strong and one cannot do anything about it with one's own ability. It comes from the image of something being too hard to bite. It has nothing to do with pronunciation or nervousness.
Original Japanese explanation
「歯が立たない」は、相手やものごとが強すぎて、自分の力ではどうにもできないという意味です。かたくて噛めない様子から生まれた言い方です。発音や緊張とは関係ありません。
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