Me kara uroko ga ochiru
Fish scales fall from the eyes
We've all heard about having an “eye-opening experience” or someone having their “eyes opened.” In the Bible, the Apostle, Paul had an eye-opening experience. He was originally a Pharisee, a member of a religious group that persecuted the followers of Jesus Christ. On his way to arrest followers of Jesus, a bright light and the voice of Christ appeared to him and he was blinded. Later, his sight was restored by a disciple of Jesus. In Acts 9:18 it is written, “All at once something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized.” Thereafter, his life changed and he became an ardent follower of Christ. It is from this verse that the Japanese saying, “me kara uroko ga ochiru” comes.
“Me kara uroko ga ochiru” means that the scales fall from someone's eyes, as they had with Paul. However, this phrase is often used for situations that are not so life-changing. You can use it for when you are surprised to learn something you hadn't thought of before or when you finally understand what someone has been trying to tell you. It has the feeling of, “Oh, I see” or “Now I get it!”You can change this into the past tense by saying, “Me kara uroko ga ochimashita” or shorten it by just saying, “Me kara uroko desu.”
In school, teachers probably told you over and over again things you didn't really listen to or understand. However, once you got out into the “real world,” the things that they said made a lot more sense and really hit home for you. When such a revelation occurs, you can say, “Me kara uroko ga ochimashita!” “The scales have fallen from my eyes!”
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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