Ai 藍（あい）color is:
English: indigo
Spanish: indigo
Tagalog: tinang asul
Ai 藍 (あい)
Ai is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family. Common names include indigo. It is native to Eastern Europe and Asia.
The leaves were a source of indigo dye. It was already in use more than 1,000 years ago, and was the most important blue dye in East Asia.
青（あお）は藍（あい）より出（い）でて藍（あい）より青（あお）し
(Ao-wa ai-yori ide-te ai-yori ao-shi.)
The word-for-word translation of this proverb is:
Blue dye comes from the indigo plant and is bluer than indigo.
We used to get blue dye from the ai plant. However, its color is stronger and bluer than the ai.
So we use this metaphor when the student tried hard and became better than his/her teacher. The situation will give the teacher great pleasure.
The proverb has been used in Japan since the Kamakura Period (around 1300 AD).
Commentaires