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Yumi: I heard Akira and Yukiko got married last month. Is that true?

Saki: Yup. They were tied with a red string (of destiny).

This is a word-for-word translation from Japanese into English. The bold part means that they were destined to get married.

Is there an English idiomatic phrase similar to "be tied with a red string of destiny"? If not, is there an English idiom that means "be destined to get married"?

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    We often say that a couple were 'made for each other'.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Aug 8 at 7:38
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    The red string is an element (either symbolic or fantastical) that shows up in English-language media sometimes, but I don't think I'd understand it if you tried to use it as an idiom.
    – Laurel ♦
    Commented Aug 8 at 12:59
  • I don't know the details, but I believe that in some cultures, part of the wedding ceremony involves symbolically tying the bride and groom's wrists together. Could this be the case here?
    – Peter Jennings
    Commented Aug 9 at 12:51

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Another possibility is one that alludes to astrology:

Mike: I heard Bill and Alice got married last month.

Joe: Yeah. It was written in the stars. LOL

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    This was the first one I thought of. See also the inverse, a quotation from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, "star-crossed lovers."
    – Andy Bonner
    Commented Aug 8 at 21:21
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As mentioned previously by others here "to be made/meant for each other" is one expression that is possible here.

Another similar idiom is to say that something is:

A match made in heaven

For example

Harry and Sally just got married! It's a match made in heaven.

Note: this idiom can be used in other contexts, not just marriage. It can be used for any two things which go together well or were meant to be together.

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    "match made in heaven" means the people are perfectly suited for each other. That doesn't mean they were destined to find each other -- that's serendipity.
    – Barmar
    Commented Aug 9 at 14:25
  • Depends how you look at it. There's an implied literal meaning too; that the match was created in heaven (by god/s presumably), which would suggest something destined to be.
    – Billy Kerr
    Commented Aug 13 at 10:47
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We could consider destined (or fated) to be together, or made (meant or destined) for each other.

They were destined to be together.

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Considering how widespread the trope is in anime, and how terminally otaku much of the Anglophone world is, I don't see any problem with the idiom as is, although "Red String of Fate" might be more common.

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    Not that many Americans are familiar with anime. What does "otaku" mean, is that also something only a Japanophile would know?
    – Barmar
    Commented Aug 9 at 14:27
  • Not just anime. The game Scarlet Nexus heavily relies on the red string of fate. Both stylistically and for its plot.
    – Lan
    Commented Aug 9 at 14:59
  • An "otaku" is the "36 year old neckbeard in his mom's basement" trope. Many people say it about themselves proudly so it isn't really a slur but it is a (young) person who is obsessed with nerdish or pop-culture stuff to the detriment of their social skills.
    – Yorik
    Commented Aug 9 at 15:37
  • @Barmar I used it to mean "lover of anime". There's also "weeaboo" or "weeb". "Japanophile" is deprecated, much like "Japanimation"
    – No Name
    Commented Aug 9 at 18:53
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    None of those are well-known English terms, AFAIK. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if less than 50% of Americans even know what anime is. What's the non-deprecated word for "enthusiast about Japanese culture", analogous to francophile and anglophile?
    – Barmar
    Commented Aug 9 at 18:57

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