くちばしが黄き色いろい

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Meanings

1

expression, i-adjective

fledgling; green; wet behind the ears

Idiomatic expression literally meaning 'the beak is yellow', referring to a young, inexperienced person. Often used in a slightly mocking or affectionate way.

彼かれはまだくちばしが黄き色いろいから、この仕し事ごとは任まかせられない。
He's still wet behind the ears, so I can't entrust this job to him.

くちばしが黄き色いろい新しん人じんに、一いちから教おしえなければならない。

I have to teach the green new employee everything from scratch.

Written forms

くちばしが黄き色いろい
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling. The kanji 黄色い is common for 'yellow'.
嘴くちばしが黄き色いろい
Uses the non-jōyō kanji 嘴 for 'beak'. Rare in modern writing; the kana form くちばし is preferred.

Kanji

黄yellow
色color
嘴beak, bill

Similar words

未み熟じゅく
未熟 is a more formal, direct word for 'immature' or 'unskilled', while くちばしが黄色い is a colorful, idiomatic expression.
青あお二に才さい
青二才 is a derogatory term for a young, inexperienced person, stronger and more insulting than くちばしが黄色い.

Etymology

From the observation that young birds have yellow beaks, metaphorically extended to inexperienced humans. The exact origin is uncertain, but it is a long-established Japanese idiom.