anyone can make a mistake; even experts slip up
Proverb literally meaning 'a kappa swept away by a river'; used to say that even an expert can fail in their own field.
He's a veteran programmer, but he missed a simple bug. It's a perfect example of 'even a kappa can be swept away by a river.'
猿も木から落ちる and 河童の川流れ both mean even experts slip up, but 河童の川流れ has a lighter, more humorous tone.
Standard kanji spelling for the proverb.
Mixed kana-kanji spelling; the first part is written in kana.
From the folkloric creature kappa (河童), a water imp said to be an expert swimmer, being swept away in a river—its own domain—illustrating that even masters can fail.