PhraseNinja

Yojijukugo

Japanese meaning of 切磋琢磨

せっさたくま (sessa takuma)

English Translation:

Pushing each other to improve; friendly rivalry

Meaning & Cultural Context

Meaning:

Polishing one another; friends or rivals pushing each other to improve through effort and competition.
日本語で読む
仲間同士が互いに励まし合い、競い合って、学問や技能、人格を磨き高めること。

Cultural Context:

From the Chinese Book of Odes (Shijing), which compares self-cultivation to cutting, filing, carving, and polishing bone, ivory, jade, and stone. Today it is common in school, sports, and workplace talk about healthy rivalry.
日本語で読む
中国の『詩経』に由来し、骨や象牙、玉や石を切り、磨き、刻み、研ぐ作業を自己修養にたとえた言葉。現在は学校、部活、職場などで健全なライバル関係を語る際によく使われる。

Grammar & Learning Points

Grammar Point

• Noun phrase for mutual improvement; often with “し合う.”
日本語で読む
• 互いに磨き合い高め合うことを表し、「〜し合う」と組み合わせることが多い。

Trap for English Speakers

May be misunderstood as solitary self-improvement; in modern Japanese it usually implies peers or rivals improving together.
日本語で読む
一人で努力することと誤解されやすいが、現代では仲間やライバルと高め合う意味で使うことが多い。

Example

Example 1Basic Example

  1. 同期と切磋琢磨しながら資格試験に合格した。

    I passed the certification exam while pushing each other to improve with my fellow new hires.

Example 2Applied Example

  1. 二人の忍は切磋琢磨し、ついに里一番の手裏剣の使い手になった。

    The two ninja pushed each other to improve and finally became the best shuriken throwers in the village.

Quick check

Meaning

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