Don’t you just hate it when you’ve got a beautiful picture you’d like to share on your social media feed but you just can’t find the right caption for the photos?
Photo or video captions help in increasing engagement and through them, viewers are able to experience even just a peep of the moments captured by your camera.
Let’s say, you are at Yonaha Beach enjoying an evening stroll. You feel the sand in your toes while you feel the warmth of the ocean breeze on your face as the hair dances with the wind. And as you stare at the horizon, you take out your phone to capture the breathtaking moment of the sky changing its hues of blues to shades of yellow and red: The perfect shot. You are about to share it on Instagram for your Japanese friends to see and experience the ethereal moment. But, alas, you don’t have the right Japanese caption for the photo to go with it.
It sounds rather disappointing and frustrating, don’t you think?
Well, we hope this article helps.
Here, we are going to share a few positive and meaningful Japanese idioms and quotes that can be used for photo captions.
Japanese Captions for Instagram
- 花鳥風月 (Kachou Fuugetsu)
Translation: Flower, Bird, Wind, Moon
As this is often used when it comes to expressing the beauty of Mother Nature and her creations, you can use it when you post pictures of picturesque landscapes or animals. - 起死回生 (kishi kaisei)
Translation: Wake from death and return to life
When you want to post something inspirational after having a hard week or going through something tough and finally feeling better and stronger, this short Instagram caption is just for that. This can be used when you want to or can see the light at the end of a dark tunnel. - 蛙の子は蛙。(Kaeru no ko wa kaeru)
Translation: Child of a frog is a frog.
When you want to share a selfie you’ve taken with your dad or a father’s appreciation post on Father’s Day, this phrase, which means ‘like father, like son’ is the caption you could use. - 継続は力なり。(Keizoku wa chikara nari)
Translation: Continuance is power/strength.
For those #MondayMotivation posts, this phrase of encouragement to always keep going even when the going gets tough is the perfect caption. - 七転び八起き (nanakorobi yaoki)
Translation: Stumbling seven times but recovering eight.
Another motivational caption, this phrase is trying to say that even if you fail, you have to keep trying and persevere to get the desired result, rather than giving up. - 残り物には福がある。(Nokorimono ni wa fuku ga aru)
Translation: Luck exists in the leftovers.
This is perfect for #WednesdayWisdom posts as it is trying to convey a message that if you feel like you are at the last place or the bottom, luck can still help you rise. - 虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず。(Koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu)
Translation: If you do not enter the tiger’s cave, you will not catch its cub.
Let’s say you want to share a picture or video of you working out at the gym and you want to say, “without pains or trails, you will not gain”, then this is the perfect caption for it. - 自業自得 (Jigou Jitoku)
Translation: One’s Act, One’s profit/Advantage.
When you want to upload pictures of something you own, which you’ve bought with your hard-earned money, this is the caption for it. Loosely translated, it means you reap what you sow. - 晴天の霹靂 (Seiten no heki-reki)
Translation: Thunderclap from a clear sky.
This phrase represents surprise or shock. So, when you want to share pictures of that time you ran into an old friend and took a selfie or the birthday surprise that your friends threw for you, you can add this phrase to your caption. - 猿も木から落ちる。 (Saru mo ki kara ochiru)
Translation: Even monkeys fall from trees.
Not everyone is perfect. We make mistakes. After all, we are all only humans. This phrase can be used when you want to convey such messages. - 覆水盆に帰らず。(Fukusui bon ni kaerazu)
Translation: Spilt water will not return to the tray.
Once something is broken, like a trust or a promise, it cannot be fixed (for the most part anyway). If you are going through a breakup or divorce, this phrase just might help the captions of your post-breakup-yet-still-in-a-mourning-stage posts. - 案ずるより産むが易し。 (Anzuru yori umu ga yasashii)
Translation: Giving birth to a baby is easier than worrying about it.
To paraphrase it, fear is always bigger than the actual thing or incident. So, even if it sounds scary, once you’ve experienced it and enjoyed the outcome, you will realise that the fear of doing it was much worse than actually doing it.
You can use this phrase as a caption to inspire and motivate others.
We hope the above-mentioned phrases work wonders for your Instagram account.
Until next time, sayonara for now!
