the tip of the iceberg
氷山の一角
解説 Definition
表面に見えている問題はほんの一部に過ぎず、実際にはもっと大きな問題が隠れていること。
The tip of the iceberg means a small visible part of a much larger situation, problem, or truth. It is used when most of the real issue is still hidden. The expression often suggests that things are more serious than they first appear.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
"iceberg は水面上に少しだけ見え、実体の大半は下に隠れる"という映像で固定すると覚えやすい。tip は「先端」なので、見えている部分は全体のごく一部という比喩。問題・損失・不正など悪い話でよく使い、just/only the tip of the iceberg の形が頻出。今見えている症状の下に、もっと大きな原因や被害が沈んでいる場面を思い浮かべると定着しやすい。
Picture an iceberg: only the top can be seen, while most of it is under the water. So `the tip of the iceberg` means the visible part is only a small piece of a much bigger situation. It often appears with problems, as in `only the tip of the iceberg`.
例文
The reported cases are just the tip of the iceberg; many incidents go unreported.
報告された件数は氷山の一角にすぎず、多くの事例が報告されていない。
The financial losses we know about are only the tip of the iceberg.
私たちが把握している財務上の損失は氷山の一角にすぎない。
Experts believe the visible pollution is merely the tip of the iceberg.
専門家は、目に見える汚染はほんの氷山の一角にすぎないと考えている。
the tip of the iceberg の語源・成り立ち Etymology
tip は北欧系由来で「先端」、ice は古英語 is、berg はオランダ語・ドイツ語系で「山」です。巨大な氷山で見えるのは先端だけという航海の実感から「氷山の一角」となり、icicle に同じ ice、-berg には「山」の感覚が残ります。
"The tip of the iceberg" is made from "tip," meaning the pointed end, and "iceberg," literally an ice mountain, with "berg" from Dutch or Germanic words for mountain. The phrase grew from sailors' experience that only a small part of an iceberg can be seen above water. Because of that, it came to mean the small visible part of a much larger hidden whole. Related words include "icicle," and "-berg" keeps the sense of a mountain.
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