蛍雪の功

Japanese

Kanji in this term
蛍	雪	功

Etymology

• From Middle Chinese: 囊螢映雪

Idiom

蛍雪の功 (けいせつのこう, kei setsu no kou)

1. Studying while living in poverty is a painstaking achievement. Lit. Using fireflies and the brightness of the snow to read books at night, i.e. not being able to afford even a candle to study.

References

• The Kōjien (広辞苑) Dictionary of the Japanese Language, 5th edition, Iwanami Shoten Publishing, Tokyo.