Introducing cool Japanese sayings, proverbs and phrases to know, use and even wear!!

HIRAGANA:  ROMAJI:  makeru ga kachi LITERAL:  Losing is winning. MEANING:  To lose a battle/an argument/face                      to win something greater.                      To stoop to conquer.

< KANJI in this expression >   :[makeru] to lose   :[kachi] a win

This might be one of the hardest proverbs for westerners to relate to. It can be taken as just an excuse of losers. However, in Japanese culture this is often considered to be the most mature thing to do. This is because one must be able to control their ego in order to accept defeat gracefully, and they have to be perceptive enough to see that their admission of defeat will, in the end, bring a greater achievement/benefit than just winning the battle/argument before them. If you google search this proverb, you can find many Japanese websites and books on it with a title like "the Way of Makeru ga Kachi." Home   Do you like this proverb? You can even wear it!