蓼食う虫も好き好き
Japanese
| Kanji in this term | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 蓼 | 食 | 虫 | 好 | 好 |
| たで Hyōgai |
く Grade: 2 |
むし Grade: 1 |
す Grade: 4 |
す > ず Grade: 4 |
| kun'yomi | ||||
| Alternative spelling |
|---|
| 蓼食う蟲も好き好き (kyūjitai) |
Etymology
Comprised of 蓼 (tade, “Persicaria hydropiper or Polygonum hydropiper: water pepper, smartweed”) + 食う (kuu, “eat”) + 虫 (mushi, “bug”) + も (mo, “even, also”, inclusive particle) + 好き好き (sukizuki, “a matter of taste”, literally “likes and likes”).[1][2][3] As a full phrase, literally "[there are] even bugs that eat smartweed, it's a matter of taste."
First cited to a text from the late 1500s, early 1600s.[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ta̠de̞ kɯ̟ː mɯ̟ɕi mo̞ sɨkʲizɨkʲi]
Proverb
蓼食う虫も好き好き • (tade kuu mushi mo sukizuki)
- [from circa 1600] there's no accounting for taste
Synonyms
- 十人十色 (jūnin toiro, literally “ten people, ten colors”)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “蓼食う虫も好き好き”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten][1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
- ^ “蓼食う虫も好き好き”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen][2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
- ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN