[Japanese Idioms by Flashcards]
光陰矢のごとし
“Light and darkness fly like an arrow.”
(Time flies; time and tide wait for no man.)
Koo means “light”; in means “shadow” or “darkness.” Together they refer to the passage of light into darkness (day and night) – in other words, time. The sentiment behind the phrase is close to “Life is short.”
Sample text:
(Style: spoken/formal)
Hayai mono de kono kaisha ni haitte kara sanjuunen no nengetsu ga tachimashita. Kooin ya no gotoshi to iwaremasu ga, watashi ni totte no kono sanjuunen wa amarini mijikakatta to yuu no ga jikkan desu.
早いものでこの会社に入ってから、三十年の年月がたちました。『光陰矢のごとし』と言われますが、私にとってのこの三十年は余りに短かったというのが実感です。
It’s been 30 short years since I joined this company. As the proverb “Time flies like an arrow” goes, my 30 years have been indeed too short.
Japanese Idioms
