Advanced Japanese: Idioms and Figures of Speech

If you're an advanced student of Japanese, you already know that spoken Japanese is replete with idioms, proverbs, and figures of speech. Japan's long history, centuries of interaction with China and the Chinese language, the philosophical mixture of Shintoism and Buddhism—to say nothing of the Japanese penchant for having the perfect phrase for any situation—have given risen to many Japanese idioms. Try this advanced Nihongo quiz, and see how many Japanese idioms you know. Then, the next time the opportunity arises, try to use one of these figures of speech in your Japanese conversation.