How to Read “Eye mucus laughs at nose mucus”
Mekuso hanakuso wo warau
Meaning of “Eye mucus laughs at nose mucus”
This proverb refers to criticizing others for faults you have yourself. You ignore your own flaws but find and condemn similar flaws in others.
It sharply mocks this contradictory human behavior using the familiar materials of eye mucus and nose mucus.
People use this saying when someone criticizes others while ignoring their own faults. For example, someone who is often late criticizes others for being late.
Or someone with a messy room laughs at how dirty someone else’s room is. In these situations, you might point out, “That’s like eye mucus laughing at nose mucus.”
Even in modern society, people on social media often criticize others’ mistakes while making the same mistakes themselves. This proverb sharply points out this universal human trait with humor.
It teaches us the importance of self-reflection. This wisdom remains relevant today.
Origin and Etymology
No clear written records explain the origin of this proverb. However, we can make interesting observations from how the phrase is constructed.
Both eye mucus and nose mucus are hardened secretions from the human body. They look similar and have similar properties.
Even in the past, people didn’t consider them beautiful, though hygiene standards weren’t as developed as today.
The humor in this proverb comes from the image of eye mucus laughing at nose mucus. Objectively, they’re practically the same.
Yet the eye mucus ignores its own nature and laughs at the nose mucus. This ridiculous situation perfectly expresses human foolishness.
This expression appears in documents from the Edo period. This means the proverb has been around for at least several hundred years.
It uses very familiar materials from everyday life to capture the essence of human nature. This shows the sharp observation typical of Japanese proverbs.
The proverb personifies trivial things from the body and uses them to depict human society in miniature. This rich imagination may be why people have passed down this saying for so long.
Usage Examples
- You’re bad at English too, so laughing at your sister’s pronunciation is like eye mucus laughing at nose mucus
- He’s always late himself but criticizes others’ time management, so it’s truly eye mucus laughing at nose mucus
Universal Wisdom
This proverb reveals a fundamental human truth: the difficulty of self-awareness. Humans are strange creatures.
We see others’ faults remarkably clearly, but we struggle to see our own. Even more, when we find someone with the same faults as us, we unconsciously feel an urge to criticize them.
In psychological terms, this might be a type of defense mechanism called “projection.” We find the parts of ourselves we don’t want to acknowledge in others and criticize them.
This helps us maintain our mental peace. But when we think calmly, it’s obviously a ridiculous and contradictory behavior.
Our ancestors keenly understood this human trait. They used the perfect metaphor of eye mucus and nose mucus to express its absurdity.
There’s little difference between them, yet one laughs at the other. This pattern repeats itself in every aspect of human society.
People have passed down this proverb for hundreds of years because this human trait hasn’t changed over time. Technology advances and society changes.
But the difficulty of seeing ourselves objectively and the ease of criticizing others remain constant human truths, now as in the past.
When AI Hears This
The human brain tends to evaluate its own faults about 30 percent more lightly than they actually are. This is called “self-serving bias.”
Meanwhile, people evaluate the same faults in others accurately, or sometimes even excessively. In other words, the difference between eye mucus and nose mucus seems significant to the person involved, but objectively it’s almost zero.
Even more interesting, research shows that when people find someone slightly inferior to themselves, their brain’s reward system activates. In other words, feeling a slight superiority makes the brain release pleasure chemicals and improves mood.
This is the true nature of “downward comparison.” But at the same time, people fall into the “spotlight effect,” mistakenly believing they’re the center of attention.
They assume others care about their actions and words.
When these two combine, a strange phenomenon occurs. The person feels superior thinking “I’m better than them” while criticizing the other person.
But actually, third-party observers see both people as being at the same level. In fact, the criticizing person often makes a worse impression as “someone who ignores their own faults.”
Cognitive science experiments show that when two people have the same fault, the one who criticized the other experiences an average 20 percent drop in likability.
This proverb exposes a double blind spot in the human cognitive system.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people the courage to pause before criticizing. When you notice someone’s faults, first look at yourself.
This habit will help you grow.
In our modern world with developed social media, criticizing others has become easier than ever. Through screens, anonymously, casually.
But before you point that criticism at someone, why not pause for a moment? Ask yourself if you really have the right to criticize, or if you’re doing the same thing.
This isn’t about self-denial. Rather, it’s wisdom for living honestly.
People who can acknowledge their own imperfections can also be tolerant of others. They also learn the difference between constructive criticism and mere insults.
No one is perfect. We’re all eye mucus and nose mucus.
That’s exactly why we should build relationships where we support each other instead of laughing at each other’s faults. This proverb teaches us the importance of humility and compassion, wrapped in humor.
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