窮鼠猫を噛む · godan verb (-mu)
| Form | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary | 窮鼠猫を噛む | 窮鼠猫を噛まない |
| Polite | 窮鼠猫を噛みます | 窮鼠猫を噛みません |
| Past polite | 窮鼠猫を噛みました | 窮鼠猫を噛みませんでした |
| Past | 窮鼠猫を噛んだ | 窮鼠猫を噛まなかった |
| Te-form | 窮鼠猫を噛んで | 窮鼠猫を噛まないで |
| Desire | 窮鼠猫を噛みたい | 窮鼠猫を噛みたくない |
| Potential | 窮鼠猫を噛める | 窮鼠猫を噛めない |
| Passive | 窮鼠猫を噛まれる | 窮鼠猫を噛まれない |
| Causative | 窮鼠猫を噛ませる | 窮鼠猫を噛ませない |
| Causative passive | 窮鼠猫を噛ませられるalso 窮鼠猫を噛まされる | 窮鼠猫を噛ませられないalso 窮鼠猫を噛まされない |
| Volitional | 窮鼠猫を噛もう | |
| Polite volitional | 窮鼠猫を噛みましょう | |
| Imperative | 窮鼠猫を噛め | 窮鼠猫を噛むな |
| Conditional | 窮鼠猫を噛めば | 窮鼠猫を噛まなければ |
| Tara conditional | 窮鼠猫を噛んだら | 窮鼠猫を噛まなかったら |
a cornered rat will bite a cat; despair gives courage to a coward
Proverb meaning that even a weak person will fight back fiercely when pushed into a corner. Often used to warn against driving someone to desperation.
If you corner him too much, he might turn desperate and fight back like a cornered rat biting a cat.
Even a weak opponent might do something unexpected when cornered, so be careful.