How to Read “If you have a mouth, you can eat; if you have shoulders, you can wear clothes”
Kuchi areba kui, kata areba kiru
Meaning of “If you have a mouth, you can eat; if you have shoulders, you can wear clothes”
This proverb means that people can live by making use of what they already have. If you have a mouth, you can eat something and survive. If you have shoulders, you can wear something.
In other words, even without special talents or wealth, everyone can manage to live by using the body and abilities they were born with. This way of thinking is at the heart of the saying.
People use this proverb to encourage someone facing difficulties or to motivate themselves. It carries the hopeful message: “Even if you feel like you have nothing right now, you surely have something you can make use of.”
Today, this saying means more than just surviving. It’s about making the most of whatever resources and abilities you have to live your life.
It’s not just about visible things like education, qualifications, or connections. The proverb helps us recognize the value of what we already possess—our experiences, personality, and healthy body.
Origin and Etymology
The exact first appearance of this proverb in literature is unclear. However, its structure suggests it strongly reflects the everyday sensibilities of common people during the Edo period.
“If you have a mouth, you can eat” refers to the mouth as the organ for eating. “If you have shoulders, you can wear clothes” refers to shoulders as the body part for wearing garments.
What makes this expression interesting is how it connects the two most basic human activities—eating and wearing clothes—with specific body parts.
For common people in the Edo period, securing daily meals and clothing was life itself. Even without special talents or wealth, if you had a mouth, you could eat something and survive. If you had shoulders, you could wear something and endure the cold.
This saying contains the shrewd and positive wisdom of making the most of the body as a resource that humans are born with.
By using the conditional “if you have” while actually naming things everyone possesses, it delivers an encouraging message. No matter your circumstances, there are ways to survive.
This expression is thought to condense the resilient life philosophy of Edo commoners—that even in poverty, you can live through ingenuity.
Usage Examples
- I was depressed after losing my job, but “If you have a mouth, you can eat; if you have shoulders, you can wear clothes,” so I’ll try anything first
- When he complained about having no qualifications or experience, I encouraged him saying “If you have a mouth, you can eat; if you have shoulders, you can wear clothes,” so you’ll be fine
Universal Wisdom
This proverb has been passed down for so long because it expresses a fundamental optimism about human survival. When people face difficulties, they tend to despair, thinking they have nothing.
But in reality, from the moment we’re born, we already possess the basic tools for living.
The deep wisdom of this proverb lies in directing our attention to “what we have” rather than “what we lack.” Humans have a strange tendency to count and lament what they don’t have.
No money, no talent, no luck. But our ancestors saw through this. What we truly need to survive isn’t something far away—it’s the wisdom to make use of what’s already inside us.
Choosing the mouth and shoulders as examples was clever too. These are body parts everyone has. This isn’t just a metaphor—it demonstrates human equality.
No matter your social status or circumstances, everyone has the same basic bodily functions. In other words, the possibility of survival is equally open to everyone. This is a message filled with hope.
This saying contains deep trust in human adaptability. Even when environments change or situations worsen, people have survived by creatively using what they have.
That resilience may be the reason humanity has continued to this day.
When AI Hears This
The essence of this proverb lies in how it points out that the human happiness device boots up with surprisingly simple input terminals. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has five levels: physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization.
But this proverb focuses only on the lowest level—physiological needs. Moreover, it narrows down the body parts needed to fulfill them to the minimal interfaces of “mouth” and “shoulders.”
What’s noteworthy is that the proverb doesn’t say “if you have a stomach” or “if you have a body.” It deliberately makes “mouth” and “shoulders”—the contact surfaces—the subjects.
In other words, it recognizes that what’s needed for survival isn’t the internal organs as processing devices, but merely the receiving ports that connect to the outside world.
This is an inverted take on what cognitive science calls “embodied cognition.” It’s a cold observation that the life system can be maintained with just physical connections, even without higher functions like consciousness or emotions.
Modern people exhaust themselves aiming for the top floor of self-actualization. But this proverb provides cognitive reframing by resetting the “threshold of fulfillment” to the lowest level, dramatically lowering the baseline for happiness.
The fact that you can live as long as two ports—mouth and shoulders—function serves as a liberation device from excessive aspiration.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches us today is the importance of reassessing the value of what we “already have.” Modern society constantly tells us to acquire new skills, get certifications, and expand our networks.
Of course these things matter. But before that, stop and think. What do you already possess?
A healthy body, your past experiences, the relationships you’ve built, the small skills you’ve honed in daily life. These may seem too ordinary to have value.
But remember: if you have a mouth, you can eat; if you have shoulders, you can wear clothes. The ingenuity to make use of what you have now may actually be the most reliable way to live.
This teaching becomes especially powerful when facing difficult situations. Don’t lament what you’ve lost—look at what remains. Don’t count what you can’t do—start with what you can.
This shift in perspective will open new paths for you.
Inside you, many treasures sleep that you haven’t noticed yet. Dig them up, polish them, and make use of them.
That is the message this proverb has been conveying to us for hundreds of years.
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