喉から手が出る

Word by word

throat · from · hand · NOM · emerges

Idiomatic sense

To want something with an almost physical greed. A hand coming out of the throat is the picture of a desire one can no longer keep inside the body.

It is used of things, roles, and chances. It is too strong, and too comic, for a mild preference.

Examples

1. あの席が、喉から手が出るほど欲しい。

   I want that seat so badly I can taste it.

2. 喉から手が出るくらい、その仕事がやりたい。

   I am aching to do that job.

Equivalents

Marks say how far the other phrase travels with this one. How to read them.

1. near

   English

   to want something so badly one can taste it

   Same strength. English puts the desire in the mouth as a taste. Japanese sends a hand out of the throat.

2. partial

   German

   etwas dringend brauchen

   Strong need. It can be practical rather than greedy, and it has no picture.

3. partial

   French

   vouloir quelque chose à tout prix

   One would pay any price. Close in force, and silent about the body.

4. partial

   Chinese

   梦寐以求

   To want something even in one's dreams. Yearning over time, not the comic grab of the Japanese phrase.

Notes

The usual writing is 喉. Hiragana のど is also common. A hand really emerging from a throat is not a sense this phrase has in modern use. The literal gloss is there so the picture stays visible.

Sources

• Headword confirmed in JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0), including the note that the phrase is used with ほど, くらい, and similar degree words. Examples here are original.