Components

Example details

 
めくら
ヘビ
じず
kotowaza
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread (literally: if you're not scared of a blind snake ...).
This delightful expression uses the ず negative form to express the idea of 'not doing' - here, not being scared of a blind snake. The ず negative is usually in conjunctive form with に (ie, to join sentences), so when used to end the sentence here it implies an elipsis ... ie, "if you're not scared of a blind snake, then who knows what might happen ...". This construction is still perfectly usable in modern Japanese, but the terms are no longer common - 盲 would now more commonly be メクラ in katakana, and おじる would now be おびえる.
Grammar and points of interest
Conjugations and inflections
Words
2
noun
1. blindness; blind person  (sensitive)
2. illiteracy; illiterate person  (this meaning is restricted to reading めくら)
(click the word to view an additional 1 reading, 1 meaning and 3 forms, examples and links)
0
Most common form:
noun
1. snake  (じゃ is more associated with serpent and large snakes)
2. serpent; large snake
(click the word to view an additional 2 forms, examples and links)
2
ichidan verb, intransitive verb
to be scared
(click the word for examples and links)
Kanji
モウ    blind   
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ボウ   モウ   dead   な to be deceased, to have ceased to be   
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shelf
lid
ボク   モク   eye   ま-    め    
フ   こわ frightening   
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フ   ぬの cloth   
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ten   じゅう    じつ    と    とう    
キン   turban; cloth
heart
Flashcards
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More info on this sentence: Google Japan ⇗ Sentence translate
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