骨を折る

• 読み: ほねをおる
• ローマ字: honewoworu
• 漢字の分解: 骨 (hone) — bone, effort, core; 折 (o) — break, bend
• 発音: /ho.ne.wo.o.ɾɯ/

意味

To take great pains; to go to considerable trouble; to make strenuous efforts on someone's behalf.

An idiomatic phrase used as a verb (Group 1 compound 折る). 骨 (bone) functions as a metaphor for one's inner effort or resolve; 折る (to break) suggests expending or sacrificing that effort entirely. Always used in contexts where the effort is for another's benefit, distinguishing it from 努力する (general effort). Often accompanied by expressions of gratitude.

例文

1. ご紹介のためにわざわざ骨を折っていただき、誠にありがとうございます。
2. 彼女の就職のために先生が骨を折ってくださった。
3. 多くの人が骨を折ってくれたおかげで、プロジェクトは成功した。

使い方ガイド

場面: business, gratitude, networking, formal speech

トーン: respectful, grateful

起源と歴史

Classical Japanese idiom recorded from the Heian period. 骨 (hone, bone) was used metaphorically for one's core strength or inner effort, just as bone is the structural core of the body. 折る (to break/bend) implies the willingness to push that inner strength to its breaking point for another's sake.

文化的背景

時代: Classical–Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Educated