背に腹は代えられない

Japanese

Kanji in this term
背 腹 代
せ
Grade: 6 		はら
Grade: 6 		か
Grade: 3
kun'yomi

Etymology

Literally, “the back cannot be swapped for the stomach”.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [se̞ ɲ̟i ha̠ɾa̠ β̞a̠ ka̠e̞ɾa̠ɾe̞na̠i]

Idiom

背(せ)に腹(はら)は代(か)えられない • (se ni hara wa kaerarenai) 

  1. you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs

References

  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
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