Ten People, Ten Colors

Many of the idioms that native English speakers use regularly are not understood well by the Japanese and often make no sense to them when translated literally.  For those of you interested in the Japanese language you may find it interesting to know that the reverse is true for some Japanese expressions.  Nihon no Kotowaza has put together a great listing of these idioms with sound files and comparisons to the equivalent English expressions.

This is one of my favorites:

Pronunciation:
Juu-nin to-iro (listen)

Literal Translation:
Ten people, ten colors.

The equivalent idiom in English would be “To each their own” or “Different strokes for different folks’”  Don’t you think that the Japanese way of expressing this sentiment it is much more refined?

Image Credit: Personal Collection