Proverb / Kotowaza
箸にも棒にもかからない
Describing something so poor in quality or lacking in merit that it is completely useless and impossible to handle.
It cannot be caught with chopsticks or a pole.
Quick Answer
Describing something so poor in quality or lacking in merit that it is completely useless and impossible to handle.
- Literal Image
- It cannot be caught with chopsticks or a pole.
- Closest Equivalent
- Good for nothing
- How to Use It
- Used to describe people who lack any talent or utility, or projects and results that are so poor they cannot even be considered for evaluation.
Meaning
This expression is used for situations, objects, or people that have no redeeming qualities or useful skills. Just as an object that is too slippery for chopsticks and too small or awkwardly shaped to be hooked by a pole cannot be moved, something 'beyond chopsticks or poles' is a hopeless case that cannot be effectively dealt with or improved.
Literal Image
It cannot be caught with chopsticks or a pole.
Equivalent Proverbs
Good for nothing
Refers to something useless or lacking in value.
Beyond all hope
Indicates a situation where there is no prospect of success or recovery.
A chip in porridge
Something that has no effect and is of no use at all.
How to Use It
Used to describe people who lack any talent or utility, or projects and results that are so poor they cannot even be considered for evaluation.
Tone
Highly critical and dismissive. It implies a sense of exasperation when something is deemed beyond saving or help.
Examples
いくら教えても仕事を覚えず、反省もしない。彼はまさに「箸にも棒にもかからない」状態で、上司も頭を抱えている。
No matter how much he is taught, he doesn't learn the work and shows no remorse. He is in a state of being 'beyond chopsticks or poles,' and his boss is at a loss.
自信満々で小説の新人賞に応募したが、一次選考すら通過せず、「箸にも棒にもかからない」結果に終わった。
He applied for a newcomer's novel award with great confidence, but he didn't even pass the first round, ending in a 'useless' result.
企画書を出したが、内容が薄すぎて「箸にも棒にもかからない」と一蹴されてしまった。
He submitted a proposal, but it was flatly rejected as being 'completely worthless' because the content was too thin.
Learning Notes
Key Vocabulary
Uses nouns like chopsticks and poles, but the specific double negative structure and idiomatic usage require upper-intermediate knowledge.
箸
はし / hashi
chopsticks
棒
ぼう / bo
pole, stick
かからない
かからない / kakaranai
not catching, not hooking
Usage Profile
Usage note: This is a very harsh expression and can be deeply offensive when directed at a person.
Misread Risk
Do not confuse this with situations where someone is overqualified; it specifically describes a lack of merit or usefulness.
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Related Proverbs
Origin
The expression comes from the idea of moving objects. Small things can be picked up with 'hashi' (chopsticks), and large things can be hooked and carried with a 'bo' (pole). An object that cannot be caught by either—perhaps because it is slippery or poorly shaped—cannot be handled, moved, or processed. This led to the metaphor for something that has no utility or merit.
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