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辛酸をなめる (しんさんをなめる) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

辛しん酸さんをなめる

し

ん

さ

ん

を

な

め

る

Meanings

1

expression, ichidan verb

undergo many hardships; taste the bitters of life

idiomatic expression

Idiomatic expression literally meaning 'to lick bitterness and acidity', used for enduring severe difficulties or adversity over a period of time.

彼かれは若わかい頃ころに辛しん酸さんをなめて、今いまの成せい功こうを築きずいた。
He underwent many hardships in his youth and built his current success.

戦せん争そう中ちゅう、多おおくの人ひと々びとが辛しん酸さんをなめた。

During the war, many people tasted the bitters of life.

Written forms

辛しん酸さんをなめる
Standard spelling using kana for the verb, balancing readability and tradition.
辛しん酸さんを舐なめる
Kanji spelling for the verb; 舐める is common for 'lick' but less frequent in this idiom.
辛しん酸さんを嘗なめる
Archaic kanji variant; rarely used in modern writing.

Kanji

辛spicy, bitter, hot
酸acid, bitterness, sour
舐lick, lap up, burn up
嘗once, before, formerly

Similar words

苦く労ろうする
A general verb for 'to struggle' or 'to work hard under difficulties', while 辛酸をなめる is a more literary, idiomatic phrase emphasizing the bitter taste of prolonged hardship.
艱かん難なん辛しん苦く
A four-character compound meaning 'hardships and privations'; 辛酸をなめる is the verbal phrase describing the experience of such hardships.

Etymology

From 辛 (spicy/bitter) and 酸 (sour/acidic), combined with 舐める (to lick), literally 'to lick bitterness and acidity'. The phrase figuratively expresses enduring life's hardships, likely originating from classical Chinese literature.