also: こけつにいらずんばこしをえず
nothing ventured, nothing gained
A proverb meaning that without taking risks, you cannot achieve great rewards. The literal image is that you cannot capture a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den.
Starting a new business is scary, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
With a 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' spirit, he took on a risky investment.
A more colloquial and direct expression meaning 'go for it even if you might fail,' while 虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず is a formal proverb emphasizing risk and reward.
Standard kanji form of the proverb.
Alternate reading こし for 虎子; restricted to this kanji form and rarely used.
Variant kanji form using 児 instead of 子; less common but recognized.
A Japanese rendering of a Chinese proverb from the Book of the Later Han, attributed to the general Ban Chao. The literal meaning is 'if you do not enter the tiger's den, you will not get the tiger cub.'