"Good medicine is bitter in the mouth" (Japanese proverb)
concept / concept-proverb-ryoyaku-kuchi-ni-nigashi
良薬は口に苦し
"Good medicine is bitter in the mouth" (Japanese proverb) is a Japanese idiom (proverb). A Japanese dictionary identifies (Kongzi Jiayu; in translation: "Family Sayings of Confucius") as its source; it uses the description of a bitter taste as a metaphor for the difficulty of accepting advice.
On this page (5 sections)
Reading the bitterness
「デジタル大辞泉」 (in translation: "Digital Daijisen") explains the Japanese proverb 「良薬は口に苦し」 (in translation: "good medicine tastes bitter") as 『よく効く薬は苦くて飲みにくい。よい忠告の言葉は聞くのがつらいが、身のためになるというたとえ。』 (in translation: "An effective medicine is bitter and hard to drink. This is a metaphor for good advice, which is painful to hear but beneficial"). The dictionary notes its source as 『「孔子家語」六本から』 (in translation: "from the Liuben section of Kongzi Jiayu").
Checking the original passage in 「孔子家語」 (in translation: "Kongzi Jiayu") (Liuben) cited by the dictionary, the words attributed to Confucius are 『藥酒苦於口而利於病，忠言逆於耳而利於行。』 (in translation: "Medicinal wine is bitter to the mouth but beneficial for illness; loyal advice jars on the ears but benefits conduct"). Its actual wording is 「藥酒苦於口」 (in translation: "medicinal wine is bitter to the mouth"), not precisely the widely known four-character phrase 「良薬苦口」 (in translation: "good medicine is bitter to the mouth"). Its meaning corresponds to the Japanese proverb, but the wording differs.
Sources for this overview
Checked for this overview: Used verbatim the definition of 「良薬は口に苦し」 (in translation: "good medicine tastes bitter"). / Used the source attribution verbatim.
Checked for this overview: Used the original wording in 「孔子家語」 (in translation: "Kongzi Jiayu") and the difference in wording.
Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits
Culture (3)
Scope: Digital Daijisen dictionary definition of "ryoyaku wa kuchi ni nigashi" (good medicine is bitter in the mouth), as posted on Kotobank
Note: This is recorded not as a claim about the real effectiveness of medicine, but as the dictionary's definition of the saying itself.
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concept-proverb-ryoyaku-kuchi-ni-nigashi —is_defined_in_dictionary_as→ ""A well-working medicine is bitter and hard to swallow. A metaphor meaning that good advice is painful to hear but is for one's own good.""Scope: Digital Daijisen dictionary's source note for "ryoyaku wa kuchi ni nigashi," as posted on Kotobank
Note: The source attribution as given by the dictionary. The original text of Kongzi Jiayu itself has not been confirmed.
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concept-proverb-ryoyaku-kuchi-ni-nigashi —has_name_etymology→ ""From the 'Liu Ben' chapter of Kongzi Jiayu""Scope: Chinese Text Project (ctext.org), Kongzi Jiayu, "Liu Ben," chapter 2
Note: The original wording is 「藥酒苦於口」 (medicinal wine is bitter to the mouth), not the exact phrase 「良藥苦口」 (good medicine is bitter to the mouth). It is recorded as a candidate classical source for the Japanese proverb "ryoyaku wa kuchi ni nigashi" (good medicine is bitter in the mouth), with the difference in wording made explicit.
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concept-proverb-ryoyaku-kuchi-ni-nigashi —is_documented_in→ "Confucius said (Kongzi yue): 「藥酒苦於口而利於病，忠言逆於耳而利於行。」 (in translation: "Medicinal wine is bitter to the mouth but benefits the illness; honest words go against the ear but benefit conduct.")"