How to Read “Nine out of ten hazelnuts are empty”
Tohan no kokonotsu kara
Meaning of “Nine out of ten hazelnuts are empty”
“Nine out of ten hazelnuts are empty” is a proverb that describes something unreliable. When nine out of ten are empty, it means almost everything ends in disappointment.
This proverb describes things that look impressive but lack substance. It also refers to situations that seem promising but turn out to be useless.
People use this expression when promises, plans, or words cannot be trusted. It also criticizes things that look good on the outside but have no real value.
Even today, many things appear attractive on the surface but fail to meet expectations. This proverb delivers a harsh judgment on such things, saying they are “almost completely unreliable.”
By showing that ninety percent are empty, the proverb emphasizes just how low the reliability is.
Origin and Etymology
No clear written records explain the origin of “Nine out of ten hazelnuts are empty.” However, the structure of the phrase reveals an interesting background.
“Hazel” refers to the hazel tree, a deciduous shrub that grows wild throughout Japan. This tree produces small nuts in autumn.
These nuts are edible, so people have valued them since ancient times. But hazel nuts have a distinctive characteristic.
They may look full and ripe on the outside. But when you crack them open, many turn out to be completely empty inside.
This proverb likely expresses exactly that characteristic. Out of ten hazel nuts, nine are empty. In other words, ninety percent end in disappointment.
The saying contains a lesson: you cannot judge by appearance alone. You must check for yourself to know the truth.
This expression reflects the keen observation of Japanese people who lived closely with farming and nature’s bounty. People who actually gathered hazel nuts and experienced finding most of them empty probably created this proverb.
It shows the wisdom of ancestors who compared the gap between expectation and reality to a familiar natural phenomenon.
Interesting Facts
Hazel nuts have actually been used as food throughout history. They have even been found at Jomon period archaeological sites.
However, they truly do have many empty nuts, which makes harvesting inefficient. For this reason, people gradually stopped cultivating them.
It’s fascinating that this natural characteristic remained in people’s memory as a proverb.
The hazel tree is also called “hashibami” in Japanese. Its relatives include the hazelnut widely cultivated in the West.
In Western countries, selective breeding created varieties with better nut quality. But Japan’s wild species still have many empty nuts, just as they always have.
Usage Examples
- His promises are like nine out of ten hazelnuts are empty, so you shouldn’t take them seriously
- This proposal looks impressive, but his suggestions are nine out of ten hazelnuts are empty, so don’t expect too much
Universal Wisdom
“Nine out of ten hazelnuts are empty” teaches us about the gap between appearance and substance. This problem exists universally in human society.
Why was this proverb created and passed down through generations? Perhaps because humans constantly have the trait of “being fooled by appearances.”
We instinctively place expectations on things that look good. When we see hazel nuts that appear ripe and full, we expect delicious nuts inside.
But reality shows that ninety percent are empty. This gap between expectation and reality is a fundamental problem that repeatedly troubles us in life.
Our ancestors learned this truth through observing nature. Through the concrete example of hazel nuts, they tried to pass down lessons to future generations.
These lessons include “don’t judge by appearance alone” and “expect too much and you’ll be disappointed.”
What’s interesting is that this proverb contains not just a warning but also a kind of resignation. Nine out of ten are empty.
In other words, failure and disappointment are natural. You might even sense the idea that finding even one good nut is lucky.
This shows both humanity’s essential weakness and the wisdom to accept it. The proverb recognizes our tendency to be deceived while maintaining a realistic attitude for living.
That deep understanding of human nature is what this proverb contains.
When AI Hears This
When a hazel gatherer gives up after collecting “only nine out of ten,” this actually shares the same structure as the mathematical optimum that animals use when searching for food.
According to optimal foraging theory discovered by ecologists, animals unconsciously calculate the benefits from one feeding site versus movement costs. They move to the next location the moment the harvest rate drops below a certain value.
Let’s calculate this concretely. From one hazel tree, the first five nuts take one minute to gather. But finding the rest requires reaching deep into branches and pushing through leaves.
The sixth nut takes two minutes, the seventh takes three minutes, and the eighth takes five minutes. At this point, the time spent searching for the ninth nut could yield three to four nuts from the neighboring tree.
In other words, aiming for perfection causes harvest per unit time to drop sharply.
What’s fascinating is that honeybees make the same judgment when collecting nectar from flowers. They move to the next flower after extracting about 80 to 90 percent of the nectar from one flower.
The time needed to extract the remaining ten percent could get them eighty percent from a new flower. The “ninety percent wisdom” that humans learned through experience with hazel nuts was actually the efficiency strategy that living things refined through survival competition.
Here we see in mathematical form why “good enough” beats perfectionism for survival.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people the importance of maintaining healthy skepticism. In today’s information-saturated society, attractive stories, products, and opportunities constantly appear before us.
But many of them might be “nine out of ten hazelnuts are empty.”
What matters is not judging by appearance alone but maintaining an attitude of verifying substance. Check reviews, confirm track records, and try things on a small scale before fully committing.
This caution is not cowardice but wise living.
At the same time, this proverb serves as a warning to ourselves. Does the value we provide truly have substance? Are we all appearance with no real content?
However, knowing this proverb doesn’t mean we need to become excessively suspicious. Rather, accepting that disappointments naturally occur creates peace of mind.
Even if nine are empty, finding one good nut is a bonus. With this mindset, we can become more tolerant of failure.
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