Proverb / Kotowaza
目から鼻に抜ける
Extremely clever and quick-witted.
passing from the eye to the nose
Quick Answer
Extremely clever and quick-witted.
- Literal Image
- passing from the eye to the nose
- How to Use It
- It is used to praise someone's sharp intellect or clever personality, appearing in the form 'me kara hana ni nukeru you na' to describe a person or their cleverness. It carries a positive nuance of being both smart and capable.
Meaning
Describes a person who is exceptionally intelligent, quick to grasp the essence of a situation, and shrewd enough to handle matters without any oversight. It emphasizes both rapid mental processing and a sharp, practical alertness in action.
Literal Image
passing from the eye to the nose
How to Use It
It is used to praise someone's sharp intellect or clever personality, appearing in the form 'me kara hana ni nukeru you na' to describe a person or their cleverness. It carries a positive nuance of being both smart and capable.
Tone
Complimentary and admiring of someone's mental agility and shrewdness.
Examples
彼女は目から鼻に抜けるような賢さで、難しい問題もすぐに理解してしまう。
With her quick-witted intelligence, she understands even difficult problems immediately.
彼は目から鼻に抜けるような人物で、どんな状況でもすぐに有利な立場に立てる。
He is such a sharp individual that he can immediately secure an advantageous position in any situation.
Learning Notes
Key Vocabulary
While the individual words for 'eye' and 'nose' are simple, the idiomatic meaning of the phrase as a whole is not immediately obvious from its literal components.
目
め / me
eye
鼻
はな / hana
nose
抜ける
ぬける / nukeru
to pass through
賢さ
かしこさ / kashikosa
intelligence; cleverness
Usage Profile
Misread Risk
This is a purely figurative expression about mental speed; it should not be taken literally as a physical action or injury.
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Related Proverbs
Origin
The exact origin of this expression is not definitively known. It is thought that the visual image of something passing directly and quickly from the eye through to the nose represents an exceptional speed of understanding and mental processing.
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.