Word Meaning 蟹は甲羅に似せて穴を掘る

かにはこうらににせてあなをほる kani ha koura ni niseteana o horu

蟹は甲羅に似せて穴を掘る is read as かにはこうらににせてあなをほる (kani ha koura ni niseteana o horu) and means to each their own.

Meaning

English

  1. to each their own
  2. different strokes for different folks
  3. cut your coat to suit your cloth
  4. a crab digs a hole like its own shell

Reading

Kana

かにはこうらににせてあなをほる

Romaji

kani ha koura ni niseteana o horu

Stroke Sequence

12 Characters • 80 Total Strokes

Study Signals and Categories

Jōyō Jinmeiyō Kanken 準1級 Proverb Rank 158561 Priority Y

Related Vocabulary

Max. 12

甲羅を経る

こうらをへる

to accumulate years of experience

墓穴を掘る

ぼけつをほる

to dig your own grave

甲羅

こうら

person's back

甲羅干し

こうらぼし

basking (of animals with a shell or carapace, esp. turtles)

甲羅蒸

こうらむし

crab meat mixed with vegetables and egg yolk, steamed inside its shell

甲羅を干す

こうらをほす

to bask in the sun lying flat on one's stomach

穴掘

あなほり

excavation

穴掘梟

あなほりふくろう

burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia)

かに

crab

似る

にる

to resemble

掘る

ほる

(for two men) to have anal sex

似せる

にせる

to copy