The History of Kanji: Evolution and Influence on Japanese
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 |
Brush Pen |
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).
The Importance of Kanji in Japanese Literature
| Character Illustration | four-character idiomatic compounds |
 241 一顧傾国 242 一顧傾城 243 一狐之腋 244 一呼百応 245 一呼百諾 246 一切有情 247 一切皆空 248 一歳九遷 249 一切衆生 250 一切即一 251 一殺他生 252 一糸一毫 253 一死一生 254 一弛一張 255 悪人正機 256 握髪吐哺 257 握風捕影 258 悪婦破家 259 悪木盗泉 260 詠絮之才 |
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 261 潁水隠士 262 永垂不朽 263 永世無窮 264 影隻形単 265 影迹無端 266 詠雪之才 267 盈則必虧 268 一世之雄 269 一世風靡 270 一成不易 271 一成不変 272 一夕九徙 273 一夕三遷 274 一石二鳥 275 一殺多生 276 一銭一厘 277 一箭双雕 278 一措一画 279 一草一木 280 一即一切 |
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 281 一体分身 282 一旦一夕 283 一短一長 284 一箪一瓢 285 一旦豁然 286 一旦緩急 287 一箪之食 288 一治一乱 289 一致協力 290 一致団結 291 一知半解 292 一致百慮 293 一張一弛 294 一朝一夕 295 一長一短 296 永存不朽 297 栄達落魄 298 永伝不朽 299 曳尾塗中 300 盈満之災 |
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 301 英雄欺人 302 英雄豪傑 303 英朗闊達 304 阿衡之佐 305 阿衡之才 306 阿衡之任 307 足枷手枷 308 鴉雀無声 309 鴉鵲無聞 310 掩目捕雀 311 轅門二竜 312 延陵季子 313 遠慮会釈 314 遠慮近憂 315 遠慮深謀 316 艶麗繊巧 317 円顱方趾 318 枉駕来臨 319 桜花爛漫 320 陰森凄幽 |
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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.