Proverb / Kotowaza
羹に懲りて膾を吹く
To become excessively cautious after a single failure or bad experience.
Blowing on cold salad after being burned by hot soup.
Quick Answer
To become excessively cautious after a single failure or bad experience.
- Literal Image
- Blowing on cold salad after being burned by hot soup.
- Closest Equivalent
- A burnt child dreads the fire
- How to Use It
- Used to describe someone who acts with extreme caution due to past trauma, even when the current situation does not warrant it.
Meaning
This expression describes a person who has had a painful experience with hot soup and becomes so wary that they blow on cold food like namasu (a cold salad) to cool it down. It refers to a state of being unnecessarily careful or fearful after a mistake or setback.
Literal Image
Blowing on cold salad after being burned by hot soup.
Equivalent Proverbs
A burnt child dreads the fire
Matches the core lesson of being wary after a painful experience.
Once bitten, twice shy
Refers to the hesitation that follows a bad experience.
A burnt child fears the fire
Source-listed English expression with a similar lesson.
How to Use It
Used to describe someone who acts with extreme caution due to past trauma, even when the current situation does not warrant it.
Tone
Can be used to point out that someone is being overcautious or to explain an irrational hesitation caused by past events.
Examples
一度の投資の失敗で一切の資産運用をやめるのは、羹に懲りて膾を吹くだ。
Stopping all asset management after just one investment failure is like blowing on cold food after being burned by soup.
過去のトラウマから必要以上に慎重になるのは、羹に懲りて膾を吹くに等しい。
Becoming excessively cautious due to past trauma is equivalent to blowing on cold food after being burned by soup.
羹に懲りて膾を吹くことなく、失敗から学んで前に進もう。
Let's learn from our mistakes and move forward without becoming overcautious.
Learning Notes
Key Vocabulary
The proverb contains rare kanji (羹, 膾) and uses a classical structure with the particle 'wo' and the conjunctive form 'korite'.
羹
あつもの / atsumono
hot soup
膾
なます / namasu
cold dish or salad of thinly sliced raw ingredients
懲りる
こりる / koriru
to learn from a bad experience; to have had enough of
吹く
ふく / fuku
to blow
Usage Profile
Usage note: Be careful not to use this to dismiss genuine trauma; it is specifically about excessive or irrational caution.
Misread Risk
It is not a compliment for being careful; it implies that the caution is unnecessary or hinders action.
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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.