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節を折る (せつをおる) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

節せつを折おる

Meanings

1

expression, godan verb (-ru)

compromise one's principles; betray one's principles

Literary idiom meaning to bend or abandon one's moral stance. Originates from the Chinese classic 'Strategies of the Warring States'.

彼かれはどんなに困こまっても節せつを折おるようなことはしなかった。
No matter how hard things got, he never compromised his principles.
節せつを折おってまで出しゅっ世

せ

し

たく

は

ない

。

I don't want to get ahead by betraying my principles.

Kanji

節node, season, period
折fold, break, fracture

Similar words

節せつを曲まげる
Similar meaning, but 節を折る is more literary and carries a stronger sense of breaking one's principles, while 節を曲げる can be used in more everyday contexts.

Etymology

From the Chinese classic 'Strategies of the Warring States' (戦国策). The expression uses 節 (principle, integrity) and 折る (to break) to convey the idea of breaking one's moral stance.