Japanese Kanji: A Beginner's Guide to Mastering Characters
Multiple examples of four-character compounds and four-letter words are presented on one page with examples of four-character compounds displayed by various designs focusing on four-character compounds and four-letter words.
We express four-character idioms in various designs, such as Mincho, Gyosho, Gothic, and Sosho styles. These can serve as general examples for lettering in Japanese, posters (handmade signs), and calligraphy assignments like the New Year's calligraphy tradition.
 Comparison Samples of Four-Character Idiom Designs. |
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 Mincho Font |
Textbook Font |
Gyousho Font |
Gothic |
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| Maru Gothic |
Anxiety font |
Brush Writing |
Sosho Font |
We have put together a one-page sample of such a design for one four-character phrase.
Kanji characters may be missing if they are old or special characters (Unicode).
Four-Character Idioms: A Guide to Japanese Wisdom
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 1 安心立命 2 按図求駿 3 枉尺直尋 4 横説縦説 5 応接不暇 6 横草之功 7 横草之労 8 横徴暴賦 9 横徴暴斂 10 王道楽土 11 烏鳥之情 12 迂直之計 13 鬱鬱怏怏 14 鬱鬱葱葱 15 鬱鬱勃勃 16 鬱肉漏脯 17 鬱塁神荼 18 禹湯文武 19 一瀉百里 20 一種一瓶 |
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| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
41 仰首伸眉 42 蓋世之才  43 蓋世之材  44 牽強附合  45 言近旨遠  46 堅苦卓絶  47 懸軍万里  48 元軽白俗  49 剣戟森森  50 喧喧諤諤  51 広宵大暮  52 口尚乳臭  53 向上機縁  54 攻城野戦  55 校書掃塵  56 高所大所  57 苟且偸安  58 仰観俯察  59 驚喜雀躍  60 澆季之世  |
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61 澆季末世 62 驚弓之鳥  63 兢兢業業  64 恐恐謹言  65 皎皎晶晶  66 狂喜乱舞  67 胸襟秀麗  68 恐懼感激  69 恐懼再拝  70 僑軍孤進  71 薑桂之性  72 教外別伝  73 狂言綺語  74 興言利口  75 共業共果  76 恐惶謹言  77 敢作敢当  78 寒山拾得  79 顔子一瓢  80 含沙射人  |
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Significance of Font Design
They play an important role in the communication and visual presentation of information. First, fonts can greatly affect the impression of a message depending on the shape and style of the letters. For example, serif fonts give a traditional, formal impression, while sans-serif fonts create a modern, clean look.
They also contribute to readability and legibility and are designed to aid visual attraction and understanding, especially in advertising and publications. In addition, fonts can serve as part of a brand identity, a means of expressing the personality of a company or product.
About precautions How to write and read four-character phrases |
This homepage introduces how to write various four-character phrases.
Some kanji characters may be garbled because they are not supported in the font-based character design. We have also taken care to ensure that there are no mistakes in the kanji and reading notations, but there may be kanji mistakes or conversion errors.
The introduction of typefaces is only shown as an example as a sample of typeface design. Even similar fonts may differ in minor details. It is not intended to indicate superiority or inferiority of any typeface.
The font and cursive typefaces shown on this page are not necessarily correct, as they often reflect the individuality of the person actually writing them.
When accuracy is required for school assignments, exams, work, etc., please confirm the correctness of the kanji, readings, and meanings of 4-kanji compounds with a Japanese dictionary, idiomatic expression dictionary, or other reliable source. Text and images on this site may not be reproduced or redistributed.