tengu; long-nosed goblin
A mythical creature from Japanese folklore, often depicted with a red face and a long nose, said to live deep in the mountains. Also used in expressions related to arrogance.
天狗は日本の昔話によく出てくる。
Tengu often appear in Japanese folk tales.
Listening to him brag, I felt like taking him down a peg.
braggart; conceited person; arrogance
Idiomatic use likening a boastful or arrogant person to a tengu. Often used in set phrases like 天狗になる (to get a big head).
彼は少し成功しただけで天狗になってしまった。
He got a big head just from a little success.
The flattery from those around him made him conceited.
天狗になる vividly evokes becoming conceited (like the boastful tengu), while 自惚れ is the plain noun for vain self-admiration in general.
天狗になる is a colorful idiom for growing conceited after success, whereas 慢心 is the formal, neutral term for the same overconfidence.
天狗になる is a vivid, colloquial idiom for getting a swelled head, similar to うぬぼれる but more informal and image-based.
天狗になる means becoming conceited and puffed up, the opposite of 謙虚, which describes a humble, modest attitude.
天狗 and 天邪鬼 are both mountain folklore beings, but 天狗 is proud and boastful while 天邪鬼 is stubborn and does the opposite of what it's told.
As a humanoid figure, 天狗 is counted with 体 when referring to statues or carved figures, e.g. 天狗の像一体.
crow-billed tengu; small tengu with a crow's beak
hattengu; eight great tengu
large tengu; powerful tengu · big braggart; blowhard
tengu Noh play; goblin piece
proboscis monkey; long-nosed monkey
mysterious falling rocks in the mountains
panther cap; Amanita pantherina
boastful story; tall tale · story about tengu
world of the tengu; hell of the long-nosed goblins
Standard kanji spelling for both the mythical creature and the idiomatic sense.
The word 天狗 (tengu) is of Chinese origin, originally referring to a celestial dog or comet, but in Japan it evolved into the well-known long-nosed goblin of folklore. The idiomatic sense of 'braggart' comes from the tengu's traditional depiction as arrogant and self-important.
sudden gust of wind
small tengu · promising young martial artist