expression, ichidan verb
crying over spilt milk; dwelling on the past
Proverb meaning it is pointless to dwell on what cannot be changed; literally 'counting the age of one's dead child'.
終わったことを悔やんでも、死んだ子の年を数えるようなものだ。
Regretting what's done is like crying over spilt milk.
Standard kanji form of the proverb.
Variant using 歳 for 'age'; less common but still encountered.
A Japanese proverb of uncertain origin; the literal image of counting the age of a dead child vividly conveys the futility of dwelling on irreversible loss.