猫びょう額がく

noun

cat's forehead; tiny area

Used figuratively to describe a very small space, especially a small plot of land or garden. Often appears in the set phrase 猫の額ほどの庭 (a garden as small as a cat's forehead). The reading びょうがく is the standard Sino-Japanese reading; ねこびたい is a less common kun-based reading.

See also: 猫の額

• 家いえの前まえには猫びょう額がくほどの庭にわがある。

  In front of the house there is a tiny garden, no bigger than a cat's forehead.

• 都と会かいでは猫びょう額がくほどの土と地ちでも高たかい。

  In the city, even a plot of land as small as a cat's forehead is expensive.