A Japanese proverb may take the form of: a short saying, an idiomatic phrase, or a four-character idiom. Numerous Asian proverbs, including Japanese, appear to be derived from older Chinese proverbs, although it often is impossible to be completely sure about the direction of cultural influences.

Because traditional Japanese culture was tied to agriculture, many Japanese proverbs are derived from agricultural customs and practices.
Japanese commonly use proverbs, often citing just the first part of common phrases for brevity. Whereas proverbs in English are typically multi-worded phrases (e.g. "kill two birds with one stone"), Japanese yojijukugo borrow from Chinese and compactly convey the concept in one compound word (e.g. 'one stone, two birds').