相撲に勝って勝負に負ける

すもうにかってしょうぶにまける

Meanings

  1. Expression, Ichidan verb to ultimately fail despite being in a favourable position; to fail at the last moment; to win the battle but lose the war (literally: to have the upper hand in sumo (technique) but lose the match)

Kanji

Word lists

Jinuma: Japanese Dictionary · Word lists