jūbako no sumi o yōji de hojikuru lit. ‘pick at the corners of the lunch box with a toothpick’
Japanese idiom, everyday. To argue about tiny details that don’t matter.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Japanese speaker.
How do people use 重箱の隅を楊枝でほじくる
?
Said with a sigh about bosses, reviewers or in-laws who hunt down the tiniest flaw. In conversation the shorter 重箱の隅をつつく (“poke the box’s corners”) is the one you’ll hear most, often as ～ようなことを言う or ～ような質問 (“a question that pokes at the box’s corners”). It’s always critical, so don’t use it about your own careful work.
Also said 重箱の隅をつつく, 楊枝で重箱の隅をほじくる
重箱の隅を楊枝でほじくる
in real sentences
-
重箱の隅をつつくようなことはやめて。
Jūbako no sumi o tsutsuku yō na koto wa yamete.
Stop nitpicking.
Tatoeba, sentence by small_snow, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does 重箱の隅を楊枝でほじくる
come from?
Nobody records who said it first. A jūbako is the stacked lacquer box used for New Year food, and the picture is someone digging the last grains out of its square corners with a toothpick. Kotowaza o shiru jiten quotes Tayama Katai using it in his memoir Tōkyō no sanjūnen (1917). Japanese even has the opposite advice, 重箱の隅は杓子で払え: sweep the box’s corners with a rice paddle, meaning don’t fuss over details.
Mistakes learners make with 重箱の隅を楊枝でほじくる
Saying 重箱の角 (kado, “edge”) instead of 隅 (sumi, “inside corner”). Digital Daijisen flags this as wrong: the leftover rice is stuck in the inner corners, which is where the toothpick goes.
Other Japanese idioms like 重箱の隅を楊枝でほじくる
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