爪で拾って箕で零す つめでひろってみでこぼす Meanings Expression to squander what has been saved up laboriously; to blow one's hard-earned fortune (literally: to spill through a winnowing basket what one has collected with their fingernails) Kanji 爪 nail. Read as つめ. 拾 pick up. Read as ひろう. 箕 winnowing 零 zero. Read as こぼす. Word lists Idioms Jinuma: Japanese Dictionary · Word lists