The 3 day priest

April 26, 2007 on 2:42 pm | In Humor | | Email This Post

More Japanese random trivia for you. This is an interesting expression that we can all probably use…

I know I can.

「三日坊主」”mikka bouzu” “The Three Day Priest”

This expression can be used to describe someone who is unable to stick with something they have started to do.

Literally, it is referring to someone who had decided to become a priest, but was unable to continue practicing for more than a mere three days before giving up. Possibly becomoing a “bad priest“.

For example, I decided to do twenty push-ups everyday as a new years resolution…

I think I kept that up for about, oh… 3 days. Just like the expression goes.

So, whenever you start something, don’t be a 「三日坊主」! Stick with it!

- Harvey

Related Posts... (in theory)   Bad Priest    Kansai-ben Lesson 10 - haru  

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  1. Gravatar

    [...] JapanNewbie.com - The 3 day priest Explanation of the the expression “mikka bouzu,” which was actually the ‘name’ of the guy in Sexy Voice and Robo ep1 (tags: japaneselanguage) [...]

    Pingback by tokyojupiter.blog :: links for 2007-04-26 — April 27, 2007 #

  2. Gravatar

    [...] from Japan Newbie explained the expression of mikka bouzu, three days priest, which is used to describe someone who is unable to stick with something they have… Share [...]

    Pingback by Global Voices Online » Japan: Three Days Priest — April 28, 2007 #

  3. Gravatar

    [...] in their ability to impart the intended meaning. Below is one I came across today via GlobalVoices. JapanNewbie.com - Japan Blogging: 「三日坊主」”mikka bouzu” “The Three Day Priest” This expression can be used to [...]

    Pingback by Words artistic and powerful : Meandering Passage — April 28, 2007 #

  4. Gravatar

    [...] in their ability to impart the intended meaning. Below is one I came across today via GlobalVoices. JapanNewbie.com - Japan Blogging: 「三日坊主」”mikka bouzu” “The Three Day Priest” This expression can be used to [...]

    Pingback by Meandering Passage » Blog Archive » Words artistic and powerful — April 28, 2007 #

  5. Gravatar

    Geesh. People around the internet loved this post it seems. I’m surprised!

    There are plenty more proverbs where that came from…

    Comment by harvey — April 28, 2007 #

  6. Gravatar

    A while back I came across an interesting little site that incorporates a variety of 四字熟語 (yojijukugo), or four-character idiomatic compounds, into short manga stories. Brief explanations of the expressions used can be read (in Japanese) by clicking in the panels.

    四字熟語ザムライ

    Comment by Michael — April 30, 2007 #

  7. Gravatar

    I probably shouldn’t have written idiomatic there, since there are many non-idiomatic 四字熟語 too. ^_^

    Comment by Michael — April 30, 2007 #

  8. Gravatar

    Focus and passion is the key to overcome 三日坊主 ^^;

    Comment by Danny Choo — April 30, 2007 #

  9. Gravatar

    US Exports To China By The Numbers…

    The US-China Business Council just released a report on US Exports to China by State [pdf]. I have reviewed the report and the following stood out for me: US exports to China went up 240% from 2000 to 2006, as compared with a 33% overall increase. Belg…

    Trackback by China Law Blog — April 30, 2007 #

  10. Gravatar

    [...] writing a post about this entry http://www.japannewbie.com/2007/04/26/the-3-day-priest/trackback/ Stay [...]

    Pingback by http://www.japannewbie.com/2007/04/26/the-3-day-priest/trackback/ — April 7, 2008 #

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