When a Ninja does speak — they tend to speak in Japanese proverbs. Here's a few to get you started.
Doku kurawaba sara made
Literally: If eating poison, eat to the plate.Meaning: When you take a risk go all the way.
Minu ga hana
Literally: Not seeing is a flower.Meaning: Don't let your imagination run away with you.
Anzuru yori umu ga yasashi
Literally: Attempt is sometimes easier than expected.Meaning: Don't worry just do it.
Baka wa shinanakya naoranai.
Literally: Only death cures an idiot.Equivalent: There's no cure for stupidity.
Deru kui wa utareru.
Literally: The stake that sticks out gets hammered down.Meaning: It's better to fit in (conform).
Akinasu wa yome ni kuwasuna.
Literally: Don't let your daughter-in-law eat your eggplants.Meaning: Don't let yourself be taken advantage of.
Nokorimono ni wa fuku ga aru.
Literally: Luck exists in the leftovers.Meaning: Sometimes first is last.
Koketsu ni irazunba koji o ezu.
Literally: If you don't enter the tiger's cave, you will not catch its' cub.Meaning: Take a risk to be successful.
Equivalent: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Saru mo ki kara ochiru.
Literally: Even monkeys fall from trees.Meaning: Even the best fail sometimes.
Naite kurasu mo issho, waratte kurasu mo issho.
Literally: Life is the same whether we spend it crying or laughing.Meaning: Happiness is about your perspective.
Equivalent: Glass half empty, glass half full.
Tade kuu mushi mo sukizuki
Literally: There are even bugs that eat knotweed.Equivalents: To each his own. There's no accounting for taste.
I no naka no kawazu taikai o shirazu.
Literally: A frog in a well does not know the great sea.Meaning: Experience counts.
Yabu o tsutsuite hebi o dasu.
Literally:Poke a bush and a snake comes out.Meaning: Don't dwell on negative things.
Equivalent: Let sleeping dogs lie.
Kaeru no ko wa kaeru.
Literally: Child of a frog is a frog.Equivalent: Like father, like son.
Tonbi ga taka o umu.
Literally: A kite breeding a hawk.Meaning: Common parents can have extraordinary children.
Fukusui bon ni kaerazu.
Literally: Spilt water will not return to the tray.Meaning: What's done is done. There's no changing the past.
Equivalent: There's no sense crying over spilt milk.
Nito o ou mono wa itto o mo ezu.
Literally: If you chase after two hares you won't catch either one.Meaning: Focus is key to success.
Shiranu ga hotoke.
Literally: Not knowing is Buddha.Meaning: You have to empty your mind of preconceptions before you can really understand.
Nō aru taka wa tsume o kakusu.
Literally: The talented hawk hides its claws.Meaning: Don't show off.
Equivalent: Walk quietly and carry a big stick.
neko ni koban
Literally: Gold coins to a cat.Meaning: Some people can't appreciate things.
Equivalent: Like pearls before swine.
neko ni katsuobushi
Literally: Dried fish to a cat.Meaning: Don't trust someone when something is irresistible.
nanakorobi yaoki
Literally: Stumbling seven times but recovering eight.Meaning: Perseverance pays off.
Equivalent: Four steps forward, three steps back.
jigou jitoku
Literally: One's act, one's profit.Equivalent: You shall reap what you have sown.
mizu ni nagasu
Literally: The water flows.Meaning: Forgiveness is best.
Equivalent: Water under the bridge.
ame futte ji katamaru
Literally: After the rain the earth hardens.Meaning: Adversity builds character.
ishi no ue ni san nen
Literally: Three years on the rock.Meaning: It takes a long time to see results (to warm the rock with your butt).
juunin toiro
Literally: Ten men, ten colors.Equivalent: To each his own.
daidou shoui
Literally: Big similarity, small difference.Meaning: Similarities outweigh differences.
san mushou
Literally: Scattered clouds.Equivalent: Disappear without a trace.
kishi kaisei
Literally: Wake from deathMeaning: To recover from a desperate situation.
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