Parallel Expressions

[Golgo_13]

"Isseki Ni Chou" (literally, one stone, two birds) same meaning as the English "Kill two birds with one stone".

Can you think of any others?

 

[rquethe]

"Tonari no shibafu wa aoi" The neighbor's yard is green. "Grass is always greener on the other side."

I don't if that is close enough or not.

 

[Glenn]

蛙の子は蛙 - Literally: "the child of a frog is a frog." Meaning: "like father, like son."

 

[Ewok85]

早い者勝ち - fastest wins, kinda like first in best dressed

has a whole list of them in a cheap romaji dictionary i used to have

(woot, google scores a gem of a site: Japanese proverbs - Wikipedia)

 

[Elizabeth]

朝の来ない夜はない (Without morning there is no evening, or, from a Western perspective After night comes the day. No pleasure without pain).

冬きたりなば春遠からじ (If winter comes, can spring be too far behind?)

 

[Golgo_13]

"Onaji kama no meshi o kutta/tabeta"

We ate rice cooked in the same pot.

Similar to the expression "We broke bread together"

 

[Golgo_13]

The words "kekkou" and "good"

At a restaurant, a waiter might come by your table and ask if there's anything else he could get for you and you might reply "No, we're good," meaning "no thank you." But if a girl/boyfriend said "Why don't we go to a movie tonight," you might answer "Good, let's do that," meaning "yes."

Similarly, in a Japanese restaurant a waitress might ask you if you'd like more tea, and you reply "Mou kekkou desu," meaning "no thank you." If a friend said "Konya karaoke ni ikouka?" One might answer "Kekkou dane, un iiyo." (Good, I'll go).