Naranu kannin suru ga kannin
To endure the unbearable is true endurance
You've probably been in situations where you've thought you couldn't take it any more. Maybe you couldn't stand your wife's or your parents' nagging or you couldn't stand how your husband or child left their clothes all over the floor. But is putting up with minor annoyances true endurance? There are many people dealing with problems and situations most of us cannot even imagine. People are living in miserable conditions suffering from disease, starvation, and violence on a daily basis. Compared to this, our “unbearable” circumstances are nothing at all. There is a Japanese saying that provides us with a reality check while at the same time encouraging us to hang in there and deal with our situations.
Naranu kannin suru ga kannin literally means, “enduring the unendurable is endurance.” This means that putting up with minor annoyances is not true endurance. Enduring hardships that most people would think of as unbearable is true endurance.
This expression is used when someone is complaining about a situation they can't take any more. If you tell them, “Naranu kannin suru ga kannin desu ne,” you are telling them to stop complaining and just deal with it. You are encouraging them to persevere. If they can just hang in there, that is real perseverence! Think of this whenever your situation seems unbearable. You can do it!
Usage note: Most Japanese sayings can be turned into complete sentences just by adding “desu” to the end. To add emphasis, add “desu yo”. To ask for agreements (think, “yeah,” “right,” “you know”), add “desu ne”.
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