Proverb / Kotowaza
秋の雨が降れば猫の顔が三尺になる
Persistent bad weather can make people and animals feel gloomy and irritable.
When autumn rain falls, a cat's face becomes three feet long
Quick Answer
Persistent bad weather can make people and animals feel gloomy and irritable.
- Literal Image
- When autumn rain falls, a cat's face becomes three feet long
- Closest Equivalent
- Rain brings gloom to even the happiest creatures.
- How to Use It
- Used to describe a gloomy atmosphere or a person's bad mood caused by rainy weather, especially when they are stuck indoors.
Meaning
This expression describes how a cat, unable to go outside during the long rains of autumn, looks dissatisfied and grumpy. It serves as a metaphor for how gloomy weather brings down one's mood or causes people to become sullen and ill-tempered.
Literal Image
When autumn rain falls, a cat's face becomes three feet long
Equivalent Proverbs
Rain brings gloom to even the happiest creatures.
Shares the theme of rain causing gloominess.
How to Use It
Used to describe a gloomy atmosphere or a person's bad mood caused by rainy weather, especially when they are stuck indoors.
Tone
This is an evocative and descriptive expression.
Examples
休日に雨が降ってしまい、秋の雨が降れば猫の顔が三尺になるとでも言うように、子どもたちは不機嫌そうだった。
It rained on the holiday, and the children looked disgruntled, as if to say that when autumn rain falls, a cat's face becomes three feet long.
秋の雨が降れば猫の顔が三尺になるで、長雨が続くと誰しも気分が晴れないものだ。
As they say, when it rains in autumn, a cat's face becomes three feet long; when long rains persist, everyone's mood tends to stay gloomy.
遠足が雨で中止になり、秋の雨が降れば猫の顔が三尺になるように皆うなだれていた。
The field trip was canceled due to rain, and everyone was hanging their heads in gloom, just like a cat's face becoming three feet long when it rains in autumn.
Learning Notes
Key Vocabulary
While the grammar is standard, the phrase is long and includes the traditional measurement 'sanjaku' and the conditional 'fureba'.
秋
あき / aki
autumn
雨
あめ / ame
rain
猫
ねこ / neko
cat
顔
かお / kao
face
三尺
さんじゃく / sanjaku
three shaku (approx. 90cm)
Usage Profile
Misread Risk
The phrase 'face becomes three shaku' is a metaphorical way of saying one's face becomes long with dissatisfaction; it should not be taken literally.
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Related Proverbs
Origin
Cats walk around freely on sunny days but are forced to stay indoors when it rains. This proverb vividly captures the image of a cat looking dissatisfied and making a 'long face' (grimacing) because it cannot go outside. It specifically notes how cats become particularly irritable during the long, persistent rains of autumn.
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Source Note
Where did this entry get its data from? The reference links are listed below. To understand how to read this section, see Data Sources.