Proverb / Kotowaza
同舟相救う
People in the same difficult situation should help one another.
Those in the same boat rescue each other.
Quick Answer
People in the same difficult situation should help one another.
- Literal Image
- Those in the same boat rescue each other.
- Closest Equivalent
- People in the same boat should help each other.
- How to Use It
- Used when emphasizing the importance of cooperation and mutual aid during a collective crisis, shared struggle, or emergency situation.
Meaning
When people find themselves in the same predicament or facing the same hardships, they should cooperate and support each other. Even those who are normally rivals or strangers should work together to overcome a shared crisis or danger.
Literal Image
Those in the same boat rescue each other.
Equivalent Proverbs
People in the same boat should help each other.
Uses the same 'boat' metaphor to advise mutual aid among those in the same situation.
How to Use It
Used when emphasizing the importance of cooperation and mutual aid during a collective crisis, shared struggle, or emergency situation.
Tone
Formal and serious, can be used in contexts of organizational recovery, disaster relief, or shared survival.
Examples
台風で孤立した集落の人々が、同舟相救うの精神で食料を分け合い、救助を待った。
People in a village isolated by a typhoon shared their food in the spirit of 'doshu ai sukuu' while waiting for rescue.
会社が倒産の危機に瀕したとき、社員たちは同舟相救うと言わんばかりに一致団結して立て直しに取り組んだ。
When the company faced the risk of bankruptcy, the employees united as if to say 'doshu ai sukuu' and worked together on the recovery.
難民キャンプでは、言葉も文化も違う人々が同舟相救うで助け合い、生き延びた。
In the refugee camp, people with different languages and cultures helped each other through 'doshu ai sukuu' and survived.
Learning Notes
Key Vocabulary
Uses formal kanji compounds and a literary verb structure not in everyday conversation.
同舟
どうしゅう / doshu
being in the same boat; shared situation
相
あい / ai
mutually; each other
救う
すくう / sukuu
to rescue; to save
Usage Profile
Misread Risk
Do not read it only as a literal statement about boats; the phrase is a metaphor for any shared difficult environment or crisis.
Search As
Related Proverbs
Origin
Derived from the 'Jiudi' chapter of the Chinese military treatise 'Sun Tzu' (The Art of War). The original text states: '呉人と越人は相悪むも、その風に当たりて済るや相救うこと、左右の手の如し' (Though the people of Wu and Yue hate each other, if they encounter a storm while crossing in the same boat, they will help each other like the left and right hands). This story teaches that in the face of a crisis, even rivals should cooperate.
Index
Topics, Situations, and Tags
Topics
Situations
Tags
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.