無い袖は振れぬ

ないそではふれぬ

Also written ない袖は振れぬ

Meanings

1. Expression you can't give (use) what you don't have; nothing comes from nothing (literally: you can't shake sleeves you don't have)

Kanji

• 無 without. Read as ない.
• 袖 sleeve. Read as そで.
• 振 swing. Read as ふれる.

Word lists

• Proverbs

Jinuma: Japanese Dictionary · Word lists