寝耳に水

Japanese
Kanji in this term
寝 耳 水
ね
Grade: S		 みみ
Grade: 1		 みず
Grade: 1
kun’yomi
Alternative spelling
寢耳に水 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Literally, "water into the ear of a sleeping person". From the proverb 寝(ね)耳(みみ)に水(みず)の入(い)るごとし (ne mimi ni mizu no iru gotoshi).[1]

Noun

寝(ね)耳(みみ)に水(みず) • (nemimi ni mizu) 

  1. (idiomatic) out of the blue, bolt from the blue, great surprise
    Synonym: 青天の霹靂 (seiten no hekireki)
    寝耳(ねみみ)に水(みず)の話(はなし)
    nemimi ni mizu no hanashi
    a surprising story

References
  1. Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.