1.
swallows and sparrows; small birds
A literary term combining the characters for swallow (燕) and sparrow (雀), collectively referring to small, common birds.
庭の木に燕雀が集まっていた。
Small birds had gathered in the garden tree.
燕雀の群れが空を飛び交う季節になった。
The season has come when flocks of small birds fly back and forth across the sky.
2.
a person of small ambition; a petty person
Used figuratively to refer to someone with limited vision or small aspirations, as contrasted with someone of great ambition or stature. Derives from the famous proverb about swallows and sparrows not understanding the ambitions of the great roc.
燕雀いずくんぞ鴻鵠の志を知らんや。
How could swallows and sparrows ever know the ambition of the great roc?
The most famous use of this word, from the Chinese historical text Records of the Grand Historian.
燕雀にはあの人の大志は理解できまい。
Small-minded people couldn't possibly understand that person's great ambition.
彼は周囲の燕雀たちの嘲笑を気にせず、自分の夢を追い続けた。
He continued to pursue his dream, unbothered by the mockery of the small-minded people around him.
自分が燕雀にすぎないことを知りつつも、大きな目標に向かって努力した。
Even while knowing I was just an ordinary person, I worked toward a grand goal.
A literary compound of 燕 (swallow) and 雀 (sparrow). Primarily encountered in the famous proverb and in elevated writing.
FAMOUS PROVERB:
燕雀いずくんぞ鴻鵠の志を知らんや — "How could swallows and sparrows know the ambitions of the great roc?" From the Chinese historical text 史記 (Records of the Grand Historian) by Sima Qian. Used to express that ordinary people cannot comprehend the aspirations of the truly ambitious.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 燕雀の徒 — people of petty ambition
- 鴻鵠と燕雀 — the great and the small; those of high ambition versus the ordinary
RELATED TERMS:
- 鴻鵠 — great roc; metaphor for a person of grand ambition (the counterpart to 燕雀)
- 大志 — great ambition
- 小人 — a petty or small-minded person
REGISTER:
Highly literary and formal. Used almost exclusively in writing, speeches, or quotations. Understanding this word is valuable for reading classical Japanese and Chinese-influenced literature.