There are many proverbs and sayings in Anno Ruini Universe. More of them are found in Takuan series, though other books also make use of them.
Through proverbs and poems cultural concepts are delivered that are somewhat different from those that we are accustomed in our world. The main role of this body is to hint those differences.
Many of the ‘archaic’ proverbs and paroemia are built on traditional Japanese and Chinese sayings.
The list below is updating as the translation goes through the Anno Ruini series.
| To take someone’s words for pure water | To believe everything someone says |
| To collapse like a log after a storm | To fall unconscious abruptly |
| Be a pickle in a rotten jar | Get oneself into trouble |
| Be green with envy | Envy leads to anger, hence the colour is green. |
| Scared like tadpoles in a thunderstorm | Being very scared |
| Throw stones in someone’s furrow | Make obstacles to one’s work, wish them bad luck |
| As easy as catch turtles in a basin | A hard task |
| Drape vines over someone’s ears | Tell lies |
| Bigger than one’s own height | Be overly boastful |
| Get into the same hole as with something | Repeat one’s previous mistake |
| Tremble like seaweed in a storm | Be very scared |
| There is a donkey attached to one’s ears | This man is a fool |
| No more than whales in a lake | Nothing |
| Have two left legs | Be clumsy |
| Eat your heart if you must! | Do whatever you need/want! |
| Let one/it be drowned! | Let one/it be damned! |
| Pike take you! | Devil take you! |
| Wash out your eyes! | Open your eyes! |
| Pike (in general) | Devil |
| Symbol / word | Meaning | Usage and References |
|---|---|---|
| Sung | Naked | Family name of Hatsukoi/Takuan. |
| Ta | King | Part of the name given to the marten by the Goddess of the West. |
| Hatsukoi | Gift of love | The name given to Takuan by his mother. |
| Zhu | Pig | Nicknames of Duke Bao-Zhu and the wandering warrior Wang-Zhu Leizu |
| Jun | Warrior | Name of the Duke Bao Jun, father of Bao-Zhu |
| Handsome | Family name of the Jun Qing, first wife of Duke Bao Jun | |
| Qing | Young | Name of the Jun Qing, first wife of Duke Bao Jun |