蓼食う虫も好き好き

Japanese
Kanji in this term
蓼 食 虫 好 好
たで
Hyōgaiji		 く
Grade: 2		 むし
Grade: 1		 す
Grade: 4		 す > ず
Grade: 4
kun’yomi
Alternative spelling
蓼食う蟲も好き好き (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Comprised of 蓼 (tade, “Persicaria hydropiper or Polygonum hydropiper: water pepper, smartweed”) +‎ 食う (kuu, “eat”) +‎ 虫 (mushi, “bug”) +‎ も (mo, “even, also”, inclusive particle) +‎ 好き好き (sukizuki, “a matter of taste”, literally “likes and likes”).[1][2][3] As a full phrase, literally "[there are] even bugs that eat smartweed, it's a matter of taste."

First cited to a text from the late 1500s, early 1600s.[1]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [ta̠de̞ kɯ̟ᵝː mɯ̟ᵝɕi mo̞ sɨᵝkʲizɨᵝkʲi]

Proverb

蓼(たで)食(く)う虫(むし)も好(す)き好(ず)き • (tade kuu mushi mo sukizuki) 

  1. [from circa 1600] there's no accounting for taste

Synonyms

References
  1. “蓼食う虫も好き好き”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  2. “蓼食う虫も好き好き”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎ (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
  3. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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