Translation guide
The body part, and related expressions for sense of smell, nosiness, and pride.
The physical nose on a face.
The standard word for nose. Used for humans and animals.
彼は鼻が高い。
He has a prominent nose.
Please blow your nose.
The ability to smell, or a keen sense of smell.
Sticking one's nose into other people's business.
Literally 'thrust one's neck into'. Means to meddle or poke one's nose into something. More common than a direct 'nose' idiom.
Don't stick your nose into other people's problems.
To meddle or be nosy, often with a nuance of unwanted kindness.
He's always sticking his nose into things.
To interfere or meddle. More formal and direct.
Please don't interfere in my affairs.
Expressions related to pride, often using 'nose' metaphorically.
Literally 'nose is high'. Means to be proud or boastful. Can be positive or negative depending on context.
He's proud of his son's success.
To be boastful or to flaunt something. Often used negatively.
He boasts about his academic background.
Literally 'become a tengu'. Means to get a big head or become conceited. A common idiom.
Describing the shape or size of a nose.
Actions like picking one's nose or blowing one's nose.
Many English idioms using 'nose' do not translate directly. For example, 'to pay through the nose' is 法外な値段を払う (ほうがいなねだんをはらう), not a literal nose expression. 'To keep one's nose clean' is 問題を起こさない (もんだいをおこさない). Always check if a figurative meaning exists before using 鼻.
鼻が高い can be used for justifiable pride (e.g., proud of a child's achievement), while 天狗になる always implies excessive, often annoying conceit. 鼻にかける is closer to 天狗になる but focuses on flaunting a specific attribute.
He has a good nose for information.
He gets a big head as soon as he's praised a little.
彼は団子鼻がチャームポイントだ。
His button nose is his charm point.
His aquiline nose is inherited from his father.