Nina's Nihongo Zone 14 - Cat Idioms (Patreon)

Hello patrons, and welcome to episode 14 of Nina's Nihongo Zone. This month, in honor of "cat-eyed Chara," I introduce a bunch of Japanese idioms that feature... cats!

List of Idioms from the Episode

猫舌 / ねこじた / Neko-jita / Cat tongue / Someone who can’t handle hot food/drink

猫背 / ねこぜ / Neko-ze / Cat’s back / Stooped, hunchbacked, bad posture

猫足 / ねこあし / Neko-ashi / Cat’s feet / Walking silently or stealthily

猫の手も借りたい / ねこのてもかりたい / Neko no te mo karitai / To want to borrow even a cat’s paws / To be very busy

猫撫で声 / ねこなでこえ / Nekona de koe / Cat’s purr / Wheedling, ingratiating voice

猫の額 / ねこのひたい / Neko no hitai / Cat’s forehead / Tiny area; tiny surface

猫の子一匹いない / ねこのこいっぴきいない / Neko no ko ippiki inai / There isn’t even a single kitten / Absolutely no one around, completely abandoned

猫も杓子も / ねこしゃくしも / Neko mo shakushi mo / Even a cat, even a ladle / Every Tom, Dick and Harry, everyone

猫に小判 / ねこにこばん / Neko ni koban / A coin to a cat / Pearls before swine

猫に鰹節 / ねこにかつおぶし / Neko ni katsuobushi / Dried fish to a cat / An irresistible temptation; a wolf to mind the sheep

猫ばば  / ねこばば / Neko baba / Cat’s poop / Stealing, embezzlement, pickpocketing

猫を被る、猫被り / ねこをかぶる、ねこかぶり / Neko wo kaburu, Neko kaburi / Wear a cat on one’s head / Feigned innocence or naiveté, pretending to be docile or weak

- To compile the above list and cross-reference the meanings and explanations, I consulted articles and blog posts from livejapan.com, zoomingjapan.com, soranews24.com, cotoacademy.com, and the indispensable jisho.org.

- The intro song is "The city" by The Kyoto Connection, from the album Kyoto Soundscapes, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

- The outro song is "Brain Power" by Mela, from the album Mela two, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

If you have language questions or a topic you'd like to request for a future episode of Nina's Nihongo Zone, you can email me at gundampodcast@gmail.com, or leave a comment below!