一寸先は闇

Japanese

Kanji in this term
一	寸	先	闇
いち > いっ Grade: 1	すん Grade: 6	さき Grade: 1	やみ Grade: S

Etymology

一(いっ)寸(すん) (issun, “Japanese classical unit of length equivalent approximately 3.03 cm”) + 先(さき) (saki, “ahead”) + は (ha, topic marker) + 闇(やみ) (yami, “dark”), literally ahead of a bit is dark.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [isːɨɰ̃ sa̠kʲi β̞a̠ ja̠mʲi]

Proverb

一(いっ)寸(すん)先(さき)は闇(やみ) • (issun saki wa yami) 

1. unpredictable; no one knows what the future holds.