「陸に上がった河童」とは環境が変わったために能力を発揮できずにいることのたとえです。

Sentence Analyzer

English Translation

"A fish out of water" is a metaphor for being unable to use your talents due to a change of environment.

Furigana

「陸(りく)に上(あ)がった河童(かっぱ)」とは環境(かんきょう)が変(か)わったために能力(のうりょく)を発揮(はっき)できずにいることのたとえです。

Romanji

" riku ni agatta kappa" to wa kankyō ga kawatta tameni nōryoku o hakki dekizu ni iru koto no tatoe desu.

Words

陸 (りく、おか)

land; shore

に (に)

at (place, time); in; on; during; to (direction, state); toward; into; for (purpose); because of (reason); for; with; by; from; as (i.e. in the role of); per; in; for; a (e.g. "once a month"); and; in addition to; if; although

上がる (あがる)

to rise; to go up; to come up; to ascend; to be raised; to enter (esp. from outdoors); to come in; to go in; to enter (a school); to advance to the next grade; to get out (of water); to come ashore; to increase; to improve; to make progress; to be promoted; to advance; to be made (of profit, etc.); to occur (esp. of a favourable result); to be adequate (to cover expenses, etc.); to be finished; to be done; to be over; (of rain) to stop; to lift; to stop (working properly); to cut out; to give out; to die; to win (in a card game, etc.); to be arrested; to turn up (of evidence, etc.); to be deep fried; to be spoken loudly; to get stage fright; to be offered (to the gods, etc.); to go; to visit; to eat; to drink; to be listed (as a candidate); to serve (in one's master's home); to go north; indicates completion

河童 (かっぱ、かわわっぱ、かあっぱ、かあらんべ)

kappa; mythical water-dwelling creature; excellent swimmer; cucumber; rolled sushi containing a stick of cucumber

と (と)

if; when; and; with; particle used for quoting (with speech, thoughts, etc.); quoting particle; promoted pawn; indicates question (sentence end)

は (は)

topic marker particle; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis

環境 (かんきょう)

environment; circumstance

が (が)

indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; still; and

変わる (かわる)

to change; to be transformed; to be altered; to vary; to move to; to be different; to be uncommon; to be unusual

為に (ために)

for; for the sake of; to one's advantage; in favor of; in favour of; on behalf of; because of; as a result of

能力 (のうりょく)

ability; faculty

を (を)

indicates direct object of action; indicates subject of causative expression; indicates an area traversed; indicates time (period) over which action takes place; indicates point of departure or separation of action; indicates object of desire, like, hate, etc.

発揮 (はっき)

exhibition; demonstration; show; display; manifestation

出来る (できる)

to be able (in a position) to do; to be up to the task; to be ready; to be completed; to be made; to be built; to be good at; to be permitted (to do); to become intimate; to take up (with somebody); to grow; to be raised; to become pregnant

要る (いる)

to need; to want

事 (こと、こん)

thing; matter; incident; occurrence; event; something serious; trouble; crisis; circumstances; situation; state of affairs; work; business; affair; after an inflectable word, creates a noun phrase indicating something the speaker does not feel close to; nominalizing suffix; pretending to ...; playing make-believe ...; alias; aka; nickname; alternative name; also known as

の (の)

indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; (at sentence-end, falling tone) indicates a confident conclusion; (at sentence-end) indicates emotional emphasis; (at sentence-end, rising tone) indicates question

例える (たとえる)

to compare; to liken; to speak figuratively; to illustrate; to use a simile

です (です)

be; is