Proverb / Kotowaza
板子一枚下は地獄
A seemingly safe situation can actually be adjacent to grave danger.
Just one floorboard below is hell.
Quick Answer
A seemingly safe situation can actually be adjacent to grave danger.
- Literal Image
- Just one floorboard below is hell.
- Closest Equivalent
- One plank between you and death
- How to Use It
- Used to describe a precarious situation where severe risk is hidden just out of sight, or to refer to lines of work that involve constant, life-threatening danger.
Meaning
This proverb originally described the perilous life of sailors on wooden ships. It points out that just beneath the thin floorboards lies the raging sea, meaning their work constantly risks death. By extension, it is used as a metaphor to describe any situation where extreme danger is hidden just below a surface appearance of safety.
Literal Image
Just one floorboard below is hell.
Equivalent Proverbs
One plank between you and death
Closely matches the literal image and the underlying warning of mortal peril.
How to Use It
Used to describe a precarious situation where severe risk is hidden just out of sight, or to refer to lines of work that involve constant, life-threatening danger.
Tone
Cautionary, serious
Examples
漁師の父はよく言っていた。板子一枚下は地獄、だから海を甘く見てはいけないと。
My fisherman father used to say: just one floorboard below is hell, so you must not underestimate the sea.
Demonstrates the original context of the proverb being applied to maritime work.
Learning Notes
Key Vocabulary
The grammar and most vocabulary are simple, but the specific noun 'itago' and the metaphorical application require idiomatic understanding.
板子
いたご / itago
floorboards (especially of a small boat)
一枚
いちまい / ichimai
one flat object; one piece
下
した / shita
under; below
地獄
じごく / jigoku
hell
Usage Profile
Usage note: Avoid using this for minor everyday risks; it specifically implies a severe or life-threatening level of danger.
Misread Risk
Do not read it only as a statement about hell; the point is that grave danger exists just beneath a seemingly safe surface.
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Origin
This expression originated from the vocabulary of sailors navigating on wooden ships. It reflects the grim reality that just beneath the thin wooden floorboards at the bottom of the ship lies the vast, raging sea. If that board were to break even slightly, their lives would be lost. It captures the life-risking mindset of sailors facing the ocean.
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