瓜田に履を納れず、李下に冠を正さず

Japanese

Kanji in this term
瓜	田	履	納	李	下	冠	正
か Jinmeiyō	でん Grade: 1	くつ Grade: S	い Grade: 6	り Jinmeiyō	か Grade: 1	かんむり Grade: S	ただ Grade: 1
on’yomi		kun’yomi	kun’yomi	on’yomi		kun’yomi	kun’yomi

Etymology

Calque of Literary Chinese 瓜田不納履，李下不整冠 (literally “Do not put on sandals in a field of melons, and do not adjust your hat under a plum tree (for you might be suspected of stealing plums and melons).”) from Cao Zhi's Jūnzǐ Xíng (《君子行》, Three Kingdoms period).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ka̠dẽ̞ɲ̟ ɲ̟i kɯ̟ᵝt͡sɨᵝ o̞ iɾe̞zɨᵝ ɾʲika̠ ɲ̟i kã̠mːɯ̟ᵝɾʲi o̞ ta̠da̠sa̠zɨᵝ]

Idiom

瓜(か)田(でん)に履(くつ)を納(い)れず、李(り)下(か)に冠(かんむり)を正(ただ)さず • (kaden ni kutsu o irezu, rika ni kanmuri o tadasazu) 

1. Never invite suspicions needlessly.

See also

• Chinese: 瓜田李下 (guātiánlǐxià)

References

• The Kōjien (広辞苑) Dictionary of the Japanese Language, 5th edition, Iwanami Shoten Publishing, Tokyo.
• Four-character idiom