漁夫の利

Japanese
Kanji in this term
漁 夫 利
ぎょ
Grade: 4		 ふ
Grade: 4		 り
Grade: 4
kan’on on’yomi

Alternative forms

Etymology

Ultimately from a story in the Chinese text 戰國策／战国策 (Zhànguócè), specifically the section 趙且伐燕／赵且伐燕, wherein a snipe and a clam are arguing, and while they are busily focused on each other, a fisherman catches them both.[1][2][3][4]

First attested in 1877.[1]

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) ぎょふのり​ [gyòfú nó ríꜜ] (Odaka – [4])[5][6]
  • IPA(key): [ɡʲo̞ɸɯ̟ᵝ no̞ ɾʲi]

Idiom

漁(ぎょ)夫(ふ)の利(り) • (gyofu no ri) 

  1. [from 1877] fishing in troubled waters: a metaphor for the way that a third party can swoop in and gain while two opponents are busy fighting each other
    Synonym: 鷸蚌の争い (ippō no arasoi, literally “a fight between a snipe and a clam”)

References
  1. “漁夫の利”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
  2. “漁夫の利”, in 日本大百科全書：ニッポニカ (Nippon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica, “Encyclopedia Nipponica”)‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 1984
  3. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  4. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  6. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
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