hana ni kakeru lit. ‘to hang it on your nose’
Japanese idiom, everyday. To brag about yourself.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Japanese speaker.
How do people use 鼻にかける
?
Everyday and always disapproving: you use it about someone else, never about yourself. It takes an object, the thing being bragged about: “学歴を鼻にかける” (to be stuck up about your degree). A common warning is “あまり鼻にかけるな” (don’t get so full of yourself).
Also said 鼻に掛ける
鼻にかける
in real sentences
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あまり鼻にかけるな。
Amari hana ni kakeru na.
Don’t blow your own horn too much.
Tatoeba, sentence by small_snow, translation by CM, CC BY 2.0 FR
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高学歴を鼻にかけて人を見下した態度をとるのは良くない。
Kōgakureki o hana ni kakete hito o mikudashita taido o toru no wa yokunai.
It’s bad to use your high academic achievement as a reason to condescend to others.
Tatoeba, sentence by admiral, translation by tsp_2, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does 鼻にかける
come from?
Nihon Kokugo Daijiten (via Kotobank) quotes it in a 1683 critique of actors, Naniwa no kao wa Ise no oshiroi. The dictionaries don’t explain the picture, though the nose stands for pride in several Japanese phrases, from 鼻が高い to the long-nosed tengu.
Mistakes learners make with 鼻にかける
Confusing it with 鼻が高い (your nose is high). 鼻が高い is a pleased, often harmless pride (“your parents must be proud”), while 鼻にかける always means showing off in an irritating way.
Other Japanese idioms like 鼻にかける
Spot a mistake in 鼻にかける
?
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