Proverb / Kotowaza
一日千秋
Waiting for something so eagerly that a single day feels like a thousand years.
One day [feels like] a thousand autumns
Quick Answer
Waiting for something so eagerly that a single day feels like a thousand years.
- Literal Image
- One day [feels like] a thousand autumns
- Closest Equivalent
- A day seems like a thousand years
- How to Use It
- Used when someone is waiting very impatiently for a specific event or person they are excited to see.
Meaning
Describes a state of intense anticipation where time seems to slow down. The expression uses the image of a single day feeling as long as a thousand years—or a thousand autumns—to convey how much someone is looking forward to an event or meeting someone.
Literal Image
One day [feels like] a thousand autumns
Equivalent Proverbs
A day seems like a thousand years
Uses nearly identical imagery to describe long waiting.
How to Use It
Used when someone is waiting very impatiently for a specific event or person they are excited to see.
Tone
This is a literary and formal expression, found in letters or formal writing to express longing.
Examples
あなたに会える日を一日千秋の思いで待っています。
I am waiting for the day I can see you with a feeling of intense anticipation.
Learning Notes
Key Vocabulary
Uses basic kanji but follows a four-character structure (yojijukugo) with a specific literary reading and idiomatic meaning.
一日
いちじつ / ichijitsu
one day
千秋
せんしゅう / senshu
a thousand autumns (a thousand years)
Usage Profile
Usage note: This is a formal and literary expression; in casual speech, simpler terms like 'machi-doshii' are used.
Misread Risk
The term 'autumns' (千秋) is a metaphor for years; do not assume the proverb is only used during the autumn season.
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Origin
This expression originates from the Chinese 'Classic of Poetry' (Shijing). The original phrase was '一日不見、如三秋兮' (One day without seeing [someone] is like three autumns), where 'three autumns' signified three years. As the phrase was transmitted to Japan, 'three autumns' was exaggerated to 'a thousand autumns' (千秋), resulting in the standard Japanese idiom '一日千秋'.
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