Proverb / Kotowaza
頭の蠅を追え
Handle your own problems before trying to fix or criticize others.
Shoo the fly on your own head.
Quick Answer
Handle your own problems before trying to fix or criticize others.
- Literal Image
- Shoo the fly on your own head.
- Closest Equivalent
- Physician, heal thyself.
- How to Use It
- Used to caution someone who is criticizing others while ignoring their own faults or pending tasks.
Meaning
This expression advises focusing on one's own affairs and resolving personal issues before interfering in the business of others. It suggests that it is inappropriate to offer advice or criticism when one still has unresolved problems of their own.
Literal Image
Shoo the fly on your own head.
Equivalent Proverbs
Physician, heal thyself.
Focuses on professional or personal faults before lecturing others.
How to Use It
Used to caution someone who is criticizing others while ignoring their own faults or pending tasks.
Tone
Can be perceived as critical or cautionary, pointing out hypocrisy or misplaced priorities.
Examples
人のことをあれこれ批判する前に、「頭の蠅を追え」と言いたくなる
Before you criticize people for this and that, I feel like saying, 'Shoo the fly on your own head.'
Learning Notes
Key Vocabulary
Uses standard vocabulary like 'atama' (head) and 'oe' (imperative of 'ou'), but the noun 'hae' (fly) and the idiomatic usage make it slightly less transparent for beginners.
頭
あたま / atama
head
蠅
はえ / hae
fly
追え
おえ / oe
shoo; drive away (imperative form)
Usage Profile
Usage note: Avoid using this to dismiss helpful advice; it is specifically for those who ignore their own obvious flaws.
Misread Risk
Do not use this if someone is being genuinely helpful without hypocrisy; it is meant to address those who criticize while having unresolved issues themselves.
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Related Proverbs
Origin
The proverb comes from the comical image of someone trying to brush a fly off another person's head while ignoring a fly on their own. It serves as a warning against lecturing or interfering with others when one has not yet dealt with their own shortcomings or problems.
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