Abstract:
An idiom or an idiomatic phrase is an expression, word or unity of words that has been widely
used since ancient eras. Therefore, it is quite obvious that idioms have been shaped and
reinforces by the people of a particular social scenario. Meanwhile it is a kind of metaphor
which inherits a hidden or immobilized meaning, conventionally understood by the native
speakers. Thus, if these idiomatic phrases are not properly understood in the communicating
process, no doubt it will be a root cause to occur wrong and inappropriate responses. For an
instance the Japanese expression‘頭に来る’（come in to head）gives the meaning of getting
angry, though in sinhala language it means ‘get a good idea’. Therefore it is crystal clear that
figurative meaning is more important that its literal meaning in any language. The main
objective of the research is to identify the similarities and differences of idioms which consist
parts of the body, especially ‘head’ ‘hand’ ‘mouth’ ‘eye’ ‘leg’ and ‘ear’ since Sinhala and
Japanese language are abundant with idioms that corresponds with these parts of the body. It
is an identified fact that using components like idioms in any languages are significant to
preserve the purity of language and essential for effective day today communication. Therefore
the findings of this paper will support students who learn Japanese as a foreign language to use
and understand idioms in their daily communication and enrich their knowledge about idioms.
