taiyō ga nishi kara nobotte mo lit. ‘even if the sun rises in the west’
Japanese idiom, everyday. It will never happen.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Japanese speaker.
How do people use 太陽が西から昇っても
?
Everyday, slightly dramatic. It almost always comes in the “even if” frame, often with たとえ in front: “たとえ太陽が西から昇っても、～ない” (even if the sun rose in the west, I still wouldn’t). It’s for refusing or for saying something will never change, like a promise in reverse.
Also said 太陽が西から出ても
太陽が西から昇っても
in real sentences
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たとえ、太陽が西から昇ったとしても、彼女は決心を変えないだろう。
Tatoe, taiyō ga nishi kara nobotta to shite mo, kanojo wa kesshin o kaenai darō.
Even if the sun rose in the west, she wouldn’t change her mind.
Tatoeba, sentence by arnab, CC BY 2.0 FR
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たとえ太陽が西から昇るようなことがあっても、私の考えは変わりません。
Tatoe taiyō ga nishi kara noboru yō na koto ga atte mo, watashi no kangae wa kawarimasen.
Even if the sun were to rise in the west, I would not change my mind.
Tatoeba, sentence by KK_kaku_, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does 太陽が西から昇っても
come from?
The logic is plain: the sun always rises in the east, so the west is the one thing that can’t happen. Japanese Wiktionary lists it as an idiom under 太陽が西から出る and explains it exactly that way. I found no record of its first use.
Mistakes learners make with 太陽が西から昇っても
Leaving off the ても (even if). “太陽が西から昇る” on its own is just a false statement about astronomy; the never-meaning lives in the concessive ending.
Other Japanese idioms like 太陽が西から昇っても
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?
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