Japanese Body-Part Idioms: 手, 目, 口, 心 Expressions
Japanese body-part idioms are fixed 慣用句 (kan'yōku, idiomatic phrases) built on body-part names. The four most productive cores are 手 (hand), 目 (eye), 口 (mouth), and 心 (heart). Learn them as whole units, and ordinary speech and writing start to click into place: 手を貸す reads instantly as "lend a hand" and 目が回る as "be dizzyingly busy," not as a puzzle of separate words.
This reference is organized by body part. Each idiom gets a reading, a literal gloss (what the words say), its real idiomatic meaning, and a usage note covering register and the situations where it shows up.
Overview
A 慣用句 is a phrase whose meaning is not the sum of its parts. The nouns here, 手, 目, 口, and 心, are all basic body-part vocabulary a learner already knows. But the phrases built on them carry meanings you cannot reach by translating word by word.
The payoff is leverage. 手 powers a family of action-and-help idioms. 目 powers a family of attention-and-judgment idioms. Once you see patterns like these, dozens of phrases start to feel like variations on a few themes rather than isolated facts to memorize.
Why body parts power so many idioms
The body as a metaphor source
In Conceptual Metaphor Theory, people understand abstract ideas through concrete source domains, or source areas of meaning. Bodily, sensorimotor experience is a primary one, and the mapping runs from concrete to abstract.1 Body parts are concrete, universal, and always present, so languages everywhere recruit them for abstract notions.
The four anchors in this article each cover a different abstract area. The hand stands for action and agency, the eye for perception and attention, the mouth for speech and discretion, and the heart for emotion and sincerity. That framing previews the four sections below.
Japanese builds dozens of everyday idioms on these body parts. The idea that it leans on them especially heavily, compared with other languages, is a useful frame rather than a measured fact. No corpus count is asserted here, and the four mappings are an organizing device for this reference, not a dictionary taxonomy.1
How these idioms differ from proverbs and four-character idioms
A 慣用句 is a fixed multi-word phrase whose whole meaning is not literal. It is not a standalone moral, which is a ことわざ (proverb), and not a four-kanji compound, which is a 四字熟語 (yojijukugo). This article draws only that one-line distinction and points to Kotowaza: Japanese Proverbs for the full boundary between the three categories.
How to read this reference
Each entry below gives the idiom with its reading, a literal gloss, the idiomatic meaning, and a usage note (register, typical situation, common collocation). The literal gloss is a memory bridge: it shows the concrete image the abstract meaning grows out of.
One point carries the whole reference. The particle (を, が, or に) is part of the fixed phrase, not a free choice.
The entries use labeled definition lists rather than a wide table. Each idiom has a usage note too long to fit comfortably in a table column.
手 (hand): action, help, and possession
The hand is the body's instrument of action, so its idioms cluster around doing, helping, and holding. The set splits cleanly into a help-and-action group and a possession-and-capacity group.
Helping and taking action
手を貸す (てをかす, te o kasu)
- Literal: lend one's hand.
- Meaning: to lend one's effort; to help.2
- Usage: everyday and warm. The subject is the helper: 貸す (lend) is the helper-side verb. Common in offers (手を貸しましょうか) and requests (ちょっと手を貸して).
ちょっと手を貸して。4
"Give me a hand for a second."
彼女は彼に手を貸した。4
"She helped him."
手を借りる (てをかりる, te o kariru)
- Literal: borrow someone's hand.
- Meaning: to seek cooperation or help; to have someone help you.5
- Usage: everyday, and the mirror image of 手を貸す. The subject here receives the help: 借りる (borrow) is the receiver-side verb. 手を貸す means to give help; 手を借りる means to get it. Often 人手を借りる (borrow manpower) or 部外から手を借りる (borrow help from outside).5
手を出す (てをだす, te o dasu)
- Literal: put out or extend one's hand.
- Meaning: one dictionary entry spans several senses: to reach for or take action on something (ごちそうに手を出す, reach for the feast); to get newly involved in something, often rashly (株に手を出す, dabble in stocks); and to lay hands on someone, that is, resort to violence (口より先に手を出す, use force before words).6
- Usage: register changes sharply by sense. The "get involved" sense often warns against rash involvement (危ない商売に手を出す), and the "lay hands on" sense is confrontational. Context, and the に particle on the target, picks the sense.
手を抜く (てをぬく, te o nuku)
- Literal: pull out one's hand.
- Meaning: to skip necessary effort; to do a job carelessly; cut corners, slack off.7
- Usage: everyday and mildly negative, a criticism. It contrasts with 手をかける (take pains over something).
それは定石通りというだけで、手を抜いたわけではないのです。4
"That's just standard practice; it's not that they cut corners."
Possession and capacity
手に入る (てにはいる, te ni hairu)
- Literal: something comes into one's hand.
- Meaning: to become one's possession; to be obtained.8
- Usage: everyday. This verb is intransitive, so the thing obtained is the grammatical subject: 珍品が手に入る (a rare item comes into one's hands).
手に入れる (てにいれる, te ni ireru)
- Literal: put something into one's hand.
- Meaning: to make something one's own; to acquire, obtain.9
- Usage: everyday, and the transitive partner of 手に入る. Here the person is the subject, and the thing is marked with を. Learners often confuse this intransitive-transitive pair, so learn 手に入る and 手に入れる together.
彼は大金を手に入れた。4
"He acquired a large fortune."
手が空く (てがあく, te ga aku)
- Literal: one's hand becomes empty.
- Meaning: work reaches a pause and one becomes free or available.3
- Usage: everyday and spoken, often as 手が空いたら (when you're free). A dictionary example is 手が空いたら手伝ってくれ (help me when you have a moment).3
手が足りない (てがたりない, te ga tarinai)
- Literal: hands are insufficient.
- Meaning: short-handed; not enough people for the work.10
- Usage: workplace and everyday, close in meaning to 人手不足 (labor shortage). This phrase is more compositional than the others, close to a literal "not enough hands," which makes it the most transparent idiom in the set.
手に負えない (てにおえない, te ni oenai)
- Literal: cannot carry it in one's hands.
- Meaning: beyond one's ability to handle; unmanageable.11
- Usage: everyday, of unruly children (手に負えない子) and intractable problems (手に負えない問題). A dictionary example is 手に負えないいたずらっ子 (a mischievous child one cannot control).11
目 (eye): attention, perception, and judgment
The eye is the organ of noticing, so its idioms cover looking, being struck by what one sees, and judging quality. The set divides into a looking-and-checking group and a states-and-judgment group.
Looking, noticing, and checking
目を通す (めをとおす, me o tōsu)
- Literal: pass one's eyes over something.
- Meaning: to look over; skim; glance through the whole of something.12
- Usage: everyday to business; often 書類に目を通す (look over documents). It implies a quick once-over, not close study.
彼は報告書にざっと目を通した。4
"He skimmed through the report."
目に入る (めにはいる, me ni hairu)
- Literal: something enters one's eye.
- Meaning: to come into one's field of view; to be seen naturally, without seeking it.13
- Usage: everyday, with the seen thing as the subject (新聞の見出しが目に入る, the headline catches one's eye).13 It contrasts with the deliberate 目を通す: 目に入る is involuntary.
目を引く (めをひく, me o hiku)
- Literal: pull someone's eye.
- Meaning: to draw attention; to catch the eye; stand out.14
- Usage: everyday and common in marketing (目を引くデザイン, an eye-catching design). A dictionary example is 派手な化粧が目を引く (flashy makeup draws the eye).14
目を覚ます (めをさます, me o samasu)
- Literal: wake one's eyes.
- Meaning: literally, to wake up from sleep; figuratively, to return from confusion or delusion to a sound state, that is, to come to one's senses.15
- Usage: both senses are everyday. The figurative sense often appears as the causative 目を覚まさせる (knock some sense into someone) or the imperative 目を覚ませ (snap out of it).
今朝は5時に目を覚ました。4
"I woke up at five this morning."
いい加減に目を覚ましてくれ。4
"Wake up and face reality, would you."
States, weaknesses, and judgment
目が回る (めがまわる, me ga mawaru)
- Literal: one's eyes spin.
- Meaning: literally, to feel dizzy; figuratively, to be dizzyingly busy.16
- Usage: everyday and spoken. The busyness sense is the flagship idiomatic use, often as 目が回るほど忙しい (so busy one's head spins).
目が回るほど忙しいよ。4
"I'm so busy my head's spinning."
目がない (めがない, me ga nai)
- Literal: one has no eyes.
- Meaning: to love something so much that one loses all judgment; to have a weakness for, be a sucker for.17
- Usage: everyday and spoken, almost always as 〜に目がない (甘いものに目がない, have a sweet tooth).
彼は甘いものに目がない。4
"He has a sweet tooth."
目が高い (めがたかい, me ga takai)
- Literal: one's eye is high.
- Meaning: to have the ability to tell good things from bad; to have a discerning eye.18
- Usage: often a compliment to a customer or buyer, softened to お目が高い. A dictionary example is これをお選びになるとは目が高い (choosing this shows real taste).18
目を疑う (めをうたがう, me o utagau)
- Literal: doubt one's eyes.
- Meaning: to find what one sees so incredible that one doubts one's own eyes; to be astonished.19
- Usage: written and spoken, in reactions to something shocking. A dictionary example is 誰もがその光景に、一瞬自分の目を疑う (anyone would doubt their eyes at the sight for a moment).19
口 (mouth): speech, discretion, and skill
The mouth is the organ of speech, so its idioms turn on how much one says, how well, and how wisely. The set splits into a discretion-and-talkativeness group and a persuasion-and-meddling group.
Discretion and talkativeness
口が堅い (くちがかたい, kuchi ga katai)
- Literal: one's mouth is hard or firm.
- Meaning: does not carelessly tell others what should stay private; tight-lipped, can keep a secret.20
- Usage: everyday and a compliment, marking someone trustworthy. It pairs as a direct contrast with 口が軽い.
トムは口が堅い。4
"Tom can keep a secret."
口が軽い (くちがかるい, kuchi ga karui)
- Literal: one's mouth is light.
- Meaning: talkative to the point of saying things one shouldn't; loose-lipped, blabs.21
- Usage: everyday and mildly negative. It is the direct antonym of 口が堅い: the hard mouth holds secrets, the light mouth spills them.
あいつ、ほんと口が軽いからな。4
"He's a real blabbermouth."
口が重い (くちがおもい, kuchi ga omoi)
- Literal: one's mouth is heavy.
- Meaning: few-spoken; taciturn; reluctant to speak.22
- Usage: everyday and descriptive, often as その話が出ると口が重くなる (one goes quiet when that topic comes up).22 Although it shares a weight metaphor with 口が軽い, this is not the secret-keeping opposite of it. It describes quietness, not discretion.
Persuasion, meddling, and slips
口がうまい (くちがうまい, kuchi ga umai)
- Literal: one's mouth is skilled.
- Meaning: skilled in speech; good at talking people round with smooth words.23
- Usage: everyday, but it carries a wary, negative nuance. It is closer to "glib" or "manipulative" than to plain praise, as in 口がうまいからつい乗せられてしまう (he's so smooth you get talked into things).23
口を出す (くちをだす, kuchi o dasu)
- Literal: put out one's mouth.
- Meaning: to give an opinion beyond one's place; to butt in, meddle.24
- Usage: everyday and distinctly negative, marking unwelcome interference. Often 〜に口を出す, or the warning 口を出すな.
他人のことに口を出さないこと。4
"Don't interfere in other people's affairs."
口を挟む (くちをはさむ, kuchi o hasamu)
- Literal: insert one's mouth.
- Meaning: to cut into someone's talk while they are speaking; to interject.25
- Usage: everyday and near 口を出す, but specifically about interrupting a conversation, as in 横から口を挟む (cut in from the side).25
口が滑る (くちがすべる, kuchi ga suberu)
- Literal: one's mouth slips.
- Meaning: to carelessly say something one shouldn't; to let something slip.26
- Usage: everyday, often as つい口が滑って (it just slipped out), as in つい口が滑って秘密をもらす (let the secret slip without meaning to).26
心 (kokoro / heart): emotion, sincerity, and disposition
The heart is the seat of feeling, so its idioms cover being moved, moving others, and the breadth or sincerity of one's disposition. Many of these sound literary, a register point taken up after the entries. The set divides into a being-moved group and a sincerity-and-disposition group.
Being moved and moving others
心を打つ (こころをうつ, kokoro o utsu)
- Literal: strike someone's heart.
- Meaning: to move deeply; to touch emotionally.27
- Usage: leans literary and written, appearing in reviews and speeches. Often passive as 心を打たれる (be moved).
彼のスピーチは私たちの心を打った。4
"His speech moved us."
私、あなたの気遣いに心を打たれました。4
"I was touched by your thoughtfulness."
心に響く (こころにひびく, kokoro ni hibiku)
- Literal: echo in one's heart.
- Meaning: to resonate deeply; to strike a chord.28
- Usage: leans literary and written, in lyrics, speeches, and reviews (心に響く言葉, words that resonate). The particle here is に, not を.
心を奪う (こころをうばう, kokoro o ubau)
- Literal: steal someone's heart.
- Meaning: to captivate utterly with charm or splendor; to steal one's heart.29
- Usage: literary and written, often passive as 心を奪われる, as in 名画に心を奪われる (be captivated by a masterpiece).29
Sincerity and disposition
心を込める (こころをこめる, kokoro o komeru)
- Literal: put one's heart in.
- Meaning: to fill an act with heartfelt care; to do something with sincerity.30
- Usage: everyday and warm, for gifts, handmade things, and hospitality. Often 心を込めて plus a verb.
私は心を込めて話した。4
"I spoke from the heart."
心が広い (こころがひろい, kokoro ga hiroi)
- Literal: one's heart is wide.
- Meaning: easygoing and accepting of others' words and circumstances; broad-minded, generous.31
- Usage: everyday, descriptive, and complimentary, as in 彼は心が広いために尊敬されている (he is respected for his generosity of spirit).31 The antonym is 心が狭い.
心を鬼にする (こころをおににする, kokoro o oni ni suru)
- Literal: make one's heart a demon (鬼).
- Meaning: to take a stern stance while feeling pity; to be cruel to be kind.32
- Usage: written-leaning and earnest, common in parenting and coaching, as in 子供の将来のために心を鬼にして叱る (scold the child, hard as it is, for their own future).32
A note on the other body parts
The same metaphor engine runs on other body parts. The list below gives one or two examples for each to show how productive the pattern is. This reference still keeps its depth on the four anchors above. The pattern also runs on source domains beyond the body: the parallel family of animal idioms builds 慣用句 the same way on 馬, 犬, 猫, and 虎.
顔 (kao, face)
- 顔が広い (かおがひろい, kao ga hiroi): literally "the face is wide"; well-connected, knows lots of people.33 Everyday.
- 顔を出す (かおをだす, kao o dasu): literally "put out one's face"; show up, put in an appearance.34 Everyday.
彼は顔が広い。4
"He knows a lot of people."
頭 (atama, head)
- 頭が固い (あたまがかたい, atama ga katai): literally "the head is hard"; inflexible, stubborn.35 Everyday.
- 頭にくる (あたまにくる, atama ni kuru): literally "it comes to the head"; get angry, get ticked off.36 Everyday and casual.
あいつには頭にきた！4
"That guy made me lose it!"
足 (ashi, foot or leg)
- 足を引っ張る (あしをひっぱる, ashi o hipparu): literally "pull someone's leg"; hold someone back, drag down a team or effort.37 Everyday.
- 足が出る (あしがでる, ashi ga deru): literally "a foot sticks out"; go over budget, run a shortfall.38 Everyday.
他人の足を引っ張るようなことはするな。4
"Don't do things that get in people's way."
The literal words match the English idiom for joking with someone, but the Japanese means to hinder or hold someone back, never to tease. 彼の足を引っ張る is "I'm dragging him down," not "I'm teasing him."37
耳 (mimi, ear)
- 耳が痛い (みみがいたい, mimi ga itai): literally "one's ears hurt"; it hits a sore spot, the criticism stings because it is true.39 Everyday.
鼻 (hana, nose)
- 鼻が高い (はながたかい, hana ga takai): literally "one's nose is high"; feel proud.40 Everyday. The literal meaning "has a high or long nose" also exists, so context disambiguates.
でかしたね。ご両親もさぞかし鼻が高いでしょうね。4
"Well done! Your parents must be so proud."
腹 (hara, belly)
- 腹が立つ (はらがたつ, hara ga tatsu): literally "one's belly stands up"; get angry, be irritated.41 Everyday and spoken.
- 腹を割る (はらをわる, hara o waru): literally "split one's belly open"; speak frankly, open up, lay one's true feelings bare.42 Everyday, often as 腹を割って話す.
彼の失礼な態度には腹が立つ。4
"His rude attitude makes me angry."
Good to know
The particle is part of the idiom
Swapping を, が, or に changes the idiom or breaks it. 手を貸す (lend a hand) is transitive with を. 手が空く (be free) is intransitive with が. They are different phrases, not a single idiom with an interchangeable particle.23
The clearest case is the intransitive-transitive pair 手に入る and 手に入れる, which hinge entirely on the particle and verb. Learn each idiom as a fixed unit with its particle attached. Do not treat it as a body-part noun that you then build a phrase around.89
Literal and figurative often coexist
Many of these phrases still carry a live literal reading alongside the idiomatic one. 目を覚ます is literally to wake up and figuratively to come to one's senses.15 手を引く is literally to lead by the hand and figuratively to withdraw from an involvement.43
Context decides. 鼻が高い is the idiomatic "proud" far more often than the literal "has a long nose," but both exist. Frames like 〜から手を引く or 〜に手を出す steer toward the figurative reading.40436 Do not assume the figurative sense is the only one available.
Register runs from kitchen table to keynote
Some of these idioms are safe in any casual setting, and some sound heavy if dropped into chat. 手を貸す, 目が回る, 口が軽い, 腹が立つ, 頭にくる, and 手を抜く are everyday spoken phrases.2162141367
A few carry built-in negative judgment and should be used knowingly: 口がうまい, 口を出す, and 手を抜く all mark something the speaker disapproves of.23247
The 心 idioms lean the other way. 心を打つ, 心に響く, 心を奪う, and 心を鬼にする read as written or earnest. They can sound weighty in casual talk and surface instead in reviews, speeches, lyrics, and formal writing.27282932 Compliment forms often soften with お, as in お目が高い and お顔が広い.1833
See also
- Animal Idioms: 馬, 犬, 猫, 虎
- Kotowaza: Japanese Proverbs
- Yojijukugo: Reading and Using Four-Character Idioms
- Yojijukugo (四字熟語): The Japanese Four-Character Idioms Explained
- Top 50 Yojijukugo for N2: Readings, Meanings, Examples
- How Japanese Slang Works: Semantic Shift, Clipping, and Net-Speak